DEFENSIVE brave heart Jason Pearce believes Cherries were "extremely unlucky" to suffer the drop.
The 20-year-old, one of the biggest success stories of the season, turned in another solid display alongside Josh Gowling in Cherries' 1-1 draw against Carlisle United on Saturday.
Pearce told the Daily Echo: "Everybody is absolutely gutted. I thought we played well again and we battled hard. We had to go gung-ho towards the end but, unfortunately, it wasn't to be.
"But we gave it our best shot and should be proud of ourselves after the run we've been on.
"We did really well to take it to the final day and have been extremely unlucky not to stay up.
"We knew a draw could have been enough, especially as Cheltenham were playing Doncaster. But, and not for the first time, other results went against us and it wasn't our day. I hope the fans appreciate the effort we put in and the run we've been on.
"Hopefully it will make us stronger in the future.
"We've got a fairly young team so if we can stick together next season, then hopefully we can get out of League Two straight away."
Pearce, who was in the thick of the action when Scott Dobie netted from close range to give Carlisle the lead, believes the goal should have been chalked off.
"We all thought it was offside and I definitely did," he added. "Then, when we came in after the game, Joe Roach said the Sky cameras clearly showed it as being offside.
"It was so frustrating and just another thing that has gone against us.
"If the goal hadn't stood, we may have gone on to get the victory we deserved."
