BOURNEMOUTH Poppies boss Ken Vaughan lamented his team’s poor finishing as last season’s knockout kings crashed out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle.

Less than a year on from breaking club records in both the FA Cup and FA Vase, misfiring Poppies were denied another money-spinning run by the second lowest Wessex One club allowed into this season’s competition.

In a match where both goalkeepers had little to do, Pewsey Vale midfielder Tom Ritchie settled the tie with a bobbling shot that crept into the bottom corner on 58 minutes.

Poppies had their chances but were unconvincing in the final third as Jack Swann and Scott Joyce produced poor finishes when one-on-one with Pewsey’s Louie La Touche.

Vaughan told the Daily Echo: “Until we get our finishing right, we’re not going to win.

“It was very, very disappointing. We should have had the game tied up pretty early. We didn’t do that and we paid the price – we didn’t take our chances. Credit to Pewsey Vale, they certainly deserved it.”

The Poppies boss was also unhappy with the goal, adding: “Their lad got across two players to shoot – it should never have got that far and the shot had no great venom in it. I thought Max (Frampton) got a bit wrong footed and, normally, you’d expect him to get that.

“It is a big thing when you go out this early. You like to get a few quid out of the FA Cup, the money keeps the club rolling on and we have lost a good opportunity by not being ready for it.

“We had a few issues with the pitch in pre-season and we have struggled to get off the mark, but it is our own fault, nobody else’s.”

Poppies: Frampton, Wilson, Jackson, Llewelyn (Adetunji, 81), Crutcher, Saadi, Cream, Phillipson-Masters (Leadbetter, 72), Joyce, Swann (Maguire, 64), Lockyer. Unused subs: Molyneaux, Yeats, Watt, Vaughan (g/k).