CAPTAIN Jordan Stoddart echoed the apology offered by manager John Snape for Worcester City’s collapse against Westfields and admitted: “We crumbled”.

The shell-shocked skipper said City’s players had let down their bosses and fans by trailing 5-0 at half-time in a match that ended 6-1, marking the club’s joint-worst home defeat in a competitive match for more than 100 years.

Second-half substitutes Kyonn Evans and Mason Birch were credited with adding fight to the hopeless cause but Stoddart admitted there could be no hiding place for the starting XI.

“It was not a good day,” said Stoddart.

“From the very start and for 87 minutes of the game we were nowhere near it. It was a bad performance, as a team we let the management and fans down and I would like to apologise for the result.

“We talked about our attitude to the game and the way we presented ourselves afterwards. After the first goal we crumbled as a team.

“I am not going to point the finger at individuals. We play together, not just as a team but the whole squad beyond the 16.

“We have to learn and pull it together very quickly. The result was nowhere near good enough.

“You could call it a blip, a one-off. We like to pride ourselves on grit, dominance and attacking games but that didn’t happen. That was pretty obvious on and off the pitch, all over really from the first goal to the last.

“From a player’s point of view it was a bad day all round. I can’t pinpoint why, even down to the simple things like working off the ball and concentrating and anticipation we were second best.

“Kyonn and Mason showed they had a bit about them and battled. Even with 10 men they worked their backsides off to get the best out of any situations which was a credit to some of the lads.

“I am not going to say we were brilliant in the second half but we tried to do what we could with what we had.

“We cannot just say we were bad, Westfields played well and we were not at the races.”

City keeper Dan Jezeph was sent off for what he said to referee James Cox after the fifth goal but Stoddart insisted blaming others was not an option.

“Some of the decisions were a bit soft but I am not going to point the finger at the referee or anyone else, we have to hold up our hands and say this was not our day at all,” he added.

“We have to regroup, come back and go again. There is a long season ahead and we have to fight back.”

  • CITY'S weekend nightmare might never have happened without a roadside rescue from Westfields manager Andy Bevan.

Hat-trick hero Aidan Thomas and influential midfielder Craig Jones got stranded en route to the Victoria Ground on Saturday. 

“In the first half we punished anything they did wrong, our finishing was clinical," said Bevan.

“To go in at 5-0 ahead at half-time is a manager's dream.

“In the second half we kept the ball for four or five minutes at one stage and completed 70 to 80 passes.

“We felt we could go there and had enough to get a result but four or five weeks ago we would have been happy with a point.

“Maybe Aidan should get punctures more often. His one goal was a stunning half-volley from outside the box which had the goalkeeper standing still until it hit the net."