MELKSHAM Town chairman Darren Perrin was delighted to see so many people at Oakfields for the club’s FA Vase quarter-final with Thatcham Town - even if the outcome of the afternoon did not go the hosts' way.

After expecting a crowd of 2,000 at the Vase showpiece, the support proved greater than expected as 2,208 spectators came through the turnstiles.

On the pitch, it wasn’t Melksham’s day as the visitors snatched victory with a strike in the 90th minute to deny manager Kieran Baggs' side a spot in the semi-finals.

But despite their Vase run coming to an end, Perrin was overjoyed to see so many people supporting Melksham.

“It is obviously devastating to lose in the 90th minute but we probably didn’t play as well as we could have done,” said Perrin, who believes the club showed they are capable of hosting big games.

“It’s not about criticising what went wrong, we should reflect on what has been a magnificent cup run.

“To have 2,200 people here, at non-league football, is brilliant. I’m immensely proud of Kieran, the players and the club.

“To get to the quarter-finals, being in the last eight out of 600 clubs, the community have come out in force, that is something to be proud of.

“The day itself was great, everything went to plan until the final whistle. To do what we have done is testament to everyone at the club.”

After the final whistle some supporters clashed whilst leaving the stadium, but Perrin said the incident should not ruin the day for the club.

“We got the intelligence from Thames Valley that there were 25-30 Reading supporters who have got banning orders from Reading Football Club, who have obviously come to the game today,” he added.

“They came with the intent of causing trouble and they succeeded at the end. They were crazy scenes that we don’t need – we are a community club.

“We had children here with their parents and a lot of people will remember that instead of the actual event, which is disappointing.

“The Melksham community are simply the best, they have been fantastic. We can go as far as we want with these facilities and supporters.

“We have aspirations to be higher. That is my job and Kieran’s job. There will be a lot of tears on the way but we go again next weekend.

“This club deserves Southern League football, these lads deserve it and they’ll be hurting all week but at 3pm on Saturday they’ll be ready to go again.”