STEVE Cuss admitted it had been disappointing to see Cherries women bow out at the semi-final stage of the Subsidiary Cup.

The Dorset club played out a goalless draw against Moneyfields at Ringwood Town before exiting the competition 3-2 on penalties.

Cuss told the club website: “The overriding factor is the disappointment of losing on penalties.

“I think we had a lot of the ball in the game and it’s disappointing that we didn’t use more of the possession that we had.

“We created a couple of good chances towards the end of the match where the keeper made two really good saves.

“I don’t think we used the ball perhaps as well as we know we can and we didn’t quite create as many chances as we would’ve liked.

“Then it goes to penalties and anything can happen, as it did.”

Captain Hannah Bennett saw her free-kick go narrowly wide in the first half for Cherries, before Molly Clark’s effort hit the bar in the latter stages.

But with their regular league campaign declared null and void due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuss was happy to see the women’s side get a chance to play competitively in cup clashes.

“It’s not been easy for the players, but I think the competition has been really good,” he added.

“I’ve got to give thanks to the league for putting it on because it’s enabled us to get back to competitive football.

“We haven’t quite got to the final, but we’ve enjoyed the run that we’ve had. We’ve got to the semi-final and I think that’s going to set us up nicely.

“We’ve got a couple of games now and then a little break over June. That will hopefully set ourselves up for a good season next year.

“Allowing us to come back and play was the most important bit and we’ve really benefited from that.”