THERE is still a strong sense of what-could-have-been in the wake of Worcester City's FA Cup exit.

Talking to supporters yesterday and flicking through match reports in national newspapers, the general sway of opinion is that City were unlucky to bow out.

Unfortunate because, for a while, spirited City graced television sets with a fighting display no less inferior to the League One professionals. But it never quite clicked in the Huddersfield Town penalty box.

Worcester forced excellent chances, notably for Chris Smith, Leon Kelly and Adam Webster, but inspired Terriers goalkeeper Paul Rachubka was unbreakable.

At half-time, with Town a man down, I was confident Worcester would nail a replay at the very least. One goal was all they needed, but it never arrived. In a blink of an eyelid, Chris Brandon flashed his right boot to send the Yorkshiremen through. Sadly, that's the beauty of knock-out football.

But while fans mull over another memorable tie full of talking points, one thing is for sure -- City can be rightfully proud with their handling of the occasion.

The planning, organisation, presentation and pitch at St George's Lane were all spot-on.

Boosting the club's profile no end in front of BBC's cameras, Worcester were excellent hosts and rightly commended across the media spectrum.

Overall, viewing figures averaged 2.3 million during Match of the Day, peaking at 2.7 million towards the last 10 minutes of the tie.

"All sections of the media have told us that we've been very good hosts," said City chairman Dave Boddy. "All the national media and the BBC have been gushing with praise in the way it was handled.

"And to have so many people watching us live on television was magnificent.

"I think everything worked well. It took a lot of planning and organisation. A lot of people behind the scenes deserve a massive amount of credit.

"Directors, club staff and a small but dedicated bunch of volunteers all put a tremendous amount of hard work in. Most of us have put our lives on hold for the last three weeks.

"The work of the volunteers was vital. It was just the little things they did around the ground.

"On Saturday, they put up extra advertising hoardings. Also, we have a drinks machine in the foyer near the dressing rooms and it took about five people to shift that to create an interview area.

"The skittle alley was also turned into a players and Press lounge."

Despite the long nights and lengthy board meetings, Boddy and Co are hungry to do it all over again.

The City chairman added: "I'd like to think we can handle these sort of situations. The Chippenham replay was no different, other than it was not on television.

"Obviously, this was a one-off situation where we went from a 1,000 crowd to a 4,000 plus crowd. There are lessons we have learnt along the way, but we'd love to do it all over again."