IT COULD so easily have been Stourport Swifts rather than Hucknall Town in the draw for the FA Cup fourth qualifying round.

Rod Brown's side created more chances than their Nottinghamshire hosts but were only denied another useful pay day by outstanding keeper Dave McCarthy.

Manager Brown said his players must now put the disappointment behind them and concentrate on league games.

He said: "We're out of the cup. That's it, finished for another year.

"We have to put all that behind us and look to our next match.

"I cannot say that we were not disappointed but things didn't go our way. I cannot use the excuse that we were rubbish because we weren't.

"It could have been different if we had had a little bit of luck. You need that bit of luck, especially when you play a side form a higher level."

Hucknall may be struggling to find the net in the Unibond League Premier Division but strikers Leroy Chambers and Gary Ricketts looked sharp throughout this cup clash.

Chambers set up Russell Cooke on 10 minutes only to see the midfielder fire wide from the edge of the area.

Ricketts squandered a golden opportunity in the closing seconds, missing the target with the goal at his mercy.

Between the missed chances, Hucknall netted twice, while Swifts were denied twice by the in-form McCarthy.

Matt Southwick's point-blank effort was brilliantly saved on 17 minutes before Ricketts opened the scoring at the other end.

The striker found the bottom corner on 34 minutes following good work by Chambers.

It was a similar tale after the break as top scorer Lee Booth saw a goalbound effort kept out by McCarthy on 51 minutes.

Moments earlier, Booth saw another shot blocked on the line by defender Simon Brown.

But Chambers forced the ball over the line at the other end on 71 minutes following a goalmouth scramble.

Swifts: Clarke 7, Southwick 7, Charlton 7, Mulders 6, Davies 6, Shaw 6 (Hackett 75), Cowley 7 (Knight 59, 6), Nicholls 6 (Harvey 75), Marsh 8, Booth 7, Dunn 7. Subs (not used): Townsend, Ulfig.

STAR MAN: Simon Marsh.