Paul Kee admitted H&W Welders last-gasp Irish Cup defeat to Larne was "heartbreaking" but he was full pride for his team's performance against the Premiership leaders.
The home side produced a superb showing at Blanchflower Park and almost edged in front at the start of the second half as Michael McLellan was denied by Rohan Ferguson.
But Andy Ryan broke the Welders hearts with a 90th minute winner to seal a place in the last four.
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"We went toe-to-toe with a full-time team who are favourites for the league it's a credit to our team," Kee told Welders TV.
"We competed, stayed in the game and got a wee bit of luck at times.
"You expected them to be on top in the first half because of the run of form they're on and the players they've got.
"But we got a foothold on the game in the second half and I thought we were excellent.
"We challenged the players at half time and they came out and put on a really good show.
"It's heartbreaking losing in that manner.
"It would have been a lifetime achievement to get into the semi-finals but I'm proud of the performance, they made the club proud, we'll not be far away if we keep that level.
"The challenge now is to get back on the horse again at Ballinamallard on Tuesday night.
"There's more to come from this team, we've benchmarked that now and we have to keep to that level.
"We have four games left to try and get into the top six.
"It's going to be a challenge as there's a lot of competition."
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