Sutton Common Rovers run in the FA Vase is over, and it has left a bitter after-taste in manager Darren Salmon’s mouth.

A 3-0 defeat at Bowers & Pitsea in Essex on Saturday denied Rovers a place in the last 16, although their coffers have been swelled by £4,000 in prize money.

However, having seen the tie delayed twice by an unplayable pitch, Salmon believes it should have been postponed again.

“It was awfully wet and there was so much sand that had not really done anything to the surface,” he said.

“It had rained until Friday evening and my suspicion is that they went out on Saturday morning and put a lot of sand on it, and it was probably touch and go.

“In hindsight, should I have kicked up more of fuss? Maybe. But hindsight is a wonderful thing.”

He added: “The pitch suited their more direct style. We are a side that like to get the ball down and play.

“We probably paid the price for having to play on such a poor surface.”

Despite his disappointment, Salmon acknowledged they could still have been in the hat had they taken their chances.

He said: “We had good chances to take them back to Sutton or even won on the day.

“We had good chances to go 1-0 up in the first half, and at the beginning of the second half, Richie Monan had another chance when he was clean through, but because he knew how bad the penalty area was he took it early and put it narrowly wide.

“Then they scored a goal that was completely down to the pitch, the ball dropped on the edge of the area and our lad has expected a bit of a bounce, it’s stuck in the mud and he’s swung over it and missed, and their lad stroked it in first time.

“It was always likely that whoever scored first would go on to win, because it is easier to defend a lead in those conditions than it is to chase a game.”

Rovers, who play their home games on Sutton United’s 3G pitch, now return to life in the Premier Division on the Combined Counties League with a home clash against Bedfont Sports on Saturday.