Phil Parkinson admitted it was the most disappointed he had ever felt at the end of an Altrincham defeat after the Robins crashed out of the Emirates FA Cup in agonising fashion at Solihull Moors on Tuesday night.

Alty bounced back from conceding early on and were leading their fourth round qualifying replay 2-1 after 90 minutes, only to be pegged back in added time and ultimately eliminated on penalties, following a goalless half-hour of extra time.

The Robins missed three of their first four penalties for a 3-1 shootout defeat that cost them the chance of a home first-round tie with Maidstone United and left Parkinson at the lowest ebb he could remember as Alty boss.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this disappointed at going out of a cup competition,” he said. “To play that well and create the chances we did, only to finish on the wrong end of penalties is devastating. I’ve no other words for it.

“It’s a lottery when it goes to penalties, but we’ve got to get over the line when we’re leading 2-1 so late on, particularly with an extra defender on. We’ve got to do better in that situation.

“Even then, we had gilt-edged chances in extra time, and on another day, we win that tie by three or four goals. It’s probably the best I’ve seen us perform this season, certainly the most creative, and it’s hard to take when you don’t get what you deserve. It feels like you’ve had your guts ripped out.”

Parkinson challenged his players to take their frustration out on high-riding Gateshead at The J.Davidson Stadium on Saturday (3pm), adding: “This will have taken a lot out of them mentally as well as physically, because it’s a horrible feeling, but we will be ready for Gateshead come Saturday.

“I’m down in the dumps at the moment, but the positive to take out of it is the performance, and we have got to use that to galvanise us.

“If we even get near this performance week-in, week-out, we will win a lot of games. We will be ready for Saturday.”