Mansfield Town academy manager John Dempster had nothing but pride for his side's efforts after they were knocked out of the FA Youth Cup on penalties by Crystal Palace.
After the Stags twice came from behind to draw 2-2 after extra-time, a Xavier Sundby save meant sudden death following Jacob Dumbleton’s earlier miss but Iywrah Gooden failed to find the net.
Joseph Hungbo had put Palace ahead on 15 minutes but Aiden Walker turned the ball home just before half-time to bring the Stags level at 1-1 in the third round tie.
In extra time, Tariq Ossai again gave the visitors the lead only for substitute Dumbleton to equalise again before Gooden missed the Stags’ seventh penalty as Palace won 6-5.
Dempster said: "I'm very proud of the players and very proud of their effort. There’s a lot of heads down in that dressing room right now because they've put every into the game.
“To take a Premier League club to the last kick of the game is an unbelievable effort. I am gutted for the boys because it would have been nice to get into the fourth round.
“The character, you just can't question it. They fight for each other, they defend for each other, they block shots, they head balls away and we've got quality.”
Also on Thursday night, Kelland Watts scored a hat-trick as Newcastle United booked their place in the fourth round draw with a 5-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Watts scored twice from the penalty spot in the final ten minutes to seal his treble with Lewis Cass and Kurtis Russell grabbing the other goals at the Amex Stadium.
Elsewhere, Leicester City had to come from behind to seal a 2-1 extra-time win against Portsmouth as Kairo Edwards-John scored twice to send the Foxes through.
Dan Smith had fired Pompey ahead from the spot after Matt Mayes was brought down by Lukas Husek but Edwards-John equalised early in the second half before completing the win in extra-time.
West Brom are also into the next round after a 4-0 win over Leyton Orient while Birmingham City were 2-1 winners over Bristol City. Burnley were already through after a 1-0 victory over Leeds.
