FORMER Worcester City striker Mike Symons was disappointed Hereford failed to deliver a match-winning display in the FA Vase final at Wembley.

The forward played the full 90 minutes as Hereford suffered a comprehensive 4-1 defeat against Northern League Premier Division Morpeth Town.

Rob Purdie put the 20,000 Hereford fans into ecstasy with a stunning strike after just 75 seconds of the showpiece.

However, goals from Chris Swailes, Luke Carr, Sean Taylor and Shaun Bell gave Morpeth a maiden Vase triumph.

"You go with high hopes at the beginning of the day and, obviously the way the game has panned out, you leave disappointed," said Symons.

"We're really disappointed as a group of players because in the first 20 minutes, after we got the early goal, we were on top.

"We had two or three good chances and they then scored a goal before half-time and straight after half-time.

"That gives them the ascendancy, but we never got going in the second half as a group of players.

"We will look back and be disappointed by that.

"They then get a ricochet goal at the end and it's just frustrating."

"You've got to give them [Morpeth] credit though – I thought they worked hard all over the park and did their homework on us.

"They were well-organised and it's just disappointing that we didn't get going in the second half."

Former Stourport Swifts defender Jamie Willets, who helped Hereford to three trophies in their maiden season, including the Midland League Premier Division title, felt Morpeth deserved to win.

"We've pumped it forward, John Mills has come on for me and we changed formation a bit," said Willets.

"But take nothing away from Morpeth, they deserved to win the game.

"In the second half, they didn't look like conceding.

"They set up well, they worked hard and it was always going to be difficult for us.

"If we had kept it at 2-1, maybe we could have found a way back, but the third was the killer."

He added: "If you said to any Hereford fan that we would win three trophies and have a day out at Wembley, I think every single one of them would have bitten your hand off.

"To score over 200 goals and concede as few as we have done, it's been a fantastic season for the club."