DEFENDER Tyler Weir sacrificed any chance he had of starting in Worcester City’s FA Cup clash at Sheffield United because he didn’t want to let the fans down.

The 25-year-old full-back had been out for a month with a foot injury and faced a race against time to be ready for the trip to Bramall Lane.

But the former Hereford United player could only make his mark as a second-half substitute after starting on the bench.

After Worcester’s 3-0 defeat to the Blades watched by 11,108, Weir said: “Last week I have trained twice but my foot wasn’t 100 per cent so I didn’t want to play and get pulled off after 10 minutes, which would’ve let the team, myself and the supporters down.

“I was just happy to come on and play 40 minutes so roll on next week.”

Weir had his chance to shine in the 51st minute when he replaced Sam Minihan, and said the experience was worth the wait.

He added: “It doesn’t happen very often to get to play in places like that but we thought, as a team, we could have done better on the ball.

“We have reached the first round twice in two years and given a good account of ourselves so roll on next year.

“It was worth the five cup matches, including the replays against Holbeach United and Solihull Moors. We had a tough run but it’s more money for the club.

“It’s the most fans I have ever played in front of. Last year, we took more than 3,500 to Coventry and we had 2,000 on Saturday so I want to say thank you to the Worcester City fans.

“They went home happy knowing we have given a good account of ourselves.”

 

City’s players need to learn from their cup trip and relish their achievement in pushing League One United all the way.

That’s the message from striker Dan Nti, who also thought his side were set to equalise midway through the second half.

“We need to learn from the match, enjoy the experience and enjoy what we’ve just done,” he said.

“We came into the game to win the match, not to be starstruck by the stadium, so I’m quite disappointed we didn’t win or at least score.”

City fell behind to a 19th-minute penalty but gave the hosts a scare when Nti orchestrated a glorious chance to level only to see both Tristian Dunkley and Deon Burton unable to steer the ball over the line.

Nti added: “All we needed was that goal. I thought it was going in and that would have given us a new lease of life but unfortunately it wasn’t going to happen.

“Playing in stadiums like that is a great experience but, if I’m going to be critical, I don’t think we played to our potential.

“We now focus on the league as I don’t think our position represents how we are playing.

“I think we can kick on from this. Hopefully, we can climb up the table very quickly.”

City slipped to the bottom of Vanarama National League North during their cup commitments.