Parkinson: I feel sick to the stomach

ALTRINCHAM boss Phil Parkinson said he felt like “his guts had been ripped out of him” after Portsmouth’s winner FOUR minutes into stoppage time brought their epic FA Cup run to an end at Fratton Park.

- David Simpson

The National League North side were more than a match for their League One opponents throughout and thought they had salvaged another famous cup result after Josh Hancock cancelled out Ben Close’s opener for Portsmouth seven minutes from time.

But with the visiting fans celebrating, Pompey sub Brett Pitman climbed off the bench to break their hearts with the sucker punch to leave boss Parkinson almost speechless afterwards.

“I’m extremely proud and I’m struggling to talk to be honest,” Parkinson said.

“It shows how emotional the FA Cup is, I feel like I’ve had my guts ripped out of me.

“To come away from Portsmouth, I shake my head at the words I’m about to say, we’ve let them off the hook right at the death with 10 seconds to go.

“The players felt we could have gone on to win the game let alone draw it.