Carlisle City lost 1-0 at Ashington last night to a goal scored six minutes from the end.
The title favourites had been matched throughout by a committed City side, still massively short of key players.
Manager Jim Nichols said: “I am absolutely gutted for the lads. They deserved a lot more out of the game than they actually got.
“We started with two 17-year-olds and with only three players over the age of 23. Full credit to them for their commitment in sticking to the game plan and matching the best team in the League for almost the whole 90 minutes.
“I can’t remember our keeper having a save to make and really we felt two important decisions didn’t go our way.
“There was a very bad tackle on Jay Kelly in the second half which warranted a red card but it wasn’t given.
“Then for their goal Sam Atkinson had just nicked the ball when he was fouled. The ball fell to their player who scored but no foul was given.
“It is a pretty intimidating place to go, with a good crowd behind them to put pressure on the referee, so I think the lads stood up to it really well.
“We just have to dust ourselves down, probably get a couple more players back from injury and be ready for Redcar on Saturday.
“They beat Bishop Auckland, who are in the hunt for the title, 2-1 last night so they will provide a test for us.”
Dean Briggs scored the only goal for Ashington in the 84th minute and they are now just three points behind Newton Aycliff with two games in hand.
