BOSS Gari Lewis lamented a poor first half showing as 10-man Penrhyncoch crashed out of the Welsh Cup first round with a penalty shoot-out exit at Berriew.

The Roosters were up against it after having keeper Oli Farebrother sent off early on, and first half goals by George Davies and Joe Haycock made it 2-0.

Penrhyn rallied in the second half to level at 2-2 through Luke Sherbon’s header and sub Ieuan Brooks, and, despite being a man short, looked the more likely to win it.

After extra time failed to separate the sides, the Roosters finally succumbed 5-4 in the shoot-out, with Harry Watkins converting the winning penalty for the MMP Mid Wales League hosts.

Lewis knows his side have no time to feel sorry for themselves as they return to Huws Gray Cymru Alliance duty at home to big guns Bangor City on Saturday.

“I’m not going to make excuses as we were not good enough on the day, and I want to wish Berriew all the best in the competition,” said the Penrhyn manager.

“We started poorly, too many of the boys had an off day, and Berriew were technically better than us on their pitch. We’re struggling at the moment, especially with a few players out of form, and a few others short of match fitness.

“I was proud of the way we played in the second half. We showed a lot of guts, and were the only side looking to win it at the end even with 10 men. In the end it came down to penalties, and we paid for a poor start which was not good enough.”

He added: “Some of the boys are not quite hitting their straps at the moment, so there are going to be changes on Saturday with two or three shirts up for grabs.

“I’m going to make no bones about it, we’re in a relegation battle. It’s difficult as every other week we’ve got 180 mile round trips, so we’ve got be mentally tough, work hard and show heart.”

Bangor themselves have suffered some upheaval after manager Craig Harrison resigned to join Welsh Premier side Connah’s Quay Nomads as first team coach. But they responded with a 4-2 win over Mold Alex in the Welsh Cup, and will provide stern opposition.Bangor's director of football Stephen Vaughan Jnr has taken charge of the first team, assisted by general manager Luke Purcell and experienced non-league boss Alan Lewer.Liam James is set to return for the Roosters after recovering from illness, while forwards Steff Davies and Jonathan Evans gained some much needed match fitness against Berriew last weekend.

Despite their Welsh Cup loss, that saw Cledan Davies take over between the posts, Lewis praised the performances of Sherbon and defender Carwyn Jones.