PAUL Hurst admitted that Grimsby Town "came up short" in their quest for Conference play-off glory – but insists the Mariners have made progress this season.
The joint boss was speaking in the aftermath of his side's painful 1-0 second leg defeat at Newport County yesterday afternoon.
Christian Jolley's first-half strike gave the Exiles victory on home soil and a 2-0 aggregate triumph – to book their place in an all-Welsh play-off final against Wrexham on Sunday.
And while Justin Edinburgh's men had the chance to celebrate earning a trip to Wembley on the Rodney Parade pitch with their joyous supporters, Town were left wondering where their campaign went wrong.
"It's been a long, hard season and a lot of work has gone in," Hurst told the Telegraph.
"But when you get to the play-offs you know the way it is – and we've come up slightly short over the two games.
In Pictures: Newport 1 Grimsby Town 0 (agg 2-0)
"I thought we started the game well and had three decent chances to get in front.
"But with their goal, Aswad (Thomas) and Shaun (Pearson) appeared to be in the wrong positions and Newport slipped the ball to Jolley, who finished well.
"Up until that, I felt we were the better team, but in the second half they were always going to have a couple of chances and gaps to play in because we had to try to change it.
"It's just disappointing that in the second half we never really put them under any pressure. We seemed to get caught up not playing football and not playing direct – it was something in between and they just cleared their lines and picked up a lot of second balls.
"They saw the game out really comfortably. I thought they defended extremely well and when the ball was there to be cleared, they cleared it. They put their foot through the ball and that helped them get up the pitch.
"That's something that over the two games they did better than us."
Although clearly upset by the abrupt end to the Mariners' promotion quest, Hurst remains proud of his side's efforts in a season that saw them finish fourth in the Conference table.
He continued: "It's clear that we've made progress – that's obvious in terms of our league position, our points total and near enough all the stats.
"So there's definitely progress but at the moment it's a little bit raw.
"It's a new experience for us and one I hope we don't go through again."
Match Report: Newport County 1 Grimsby Town 0 (agg 2-0)
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