The boss admitted he was disappointed with the result, though felt his Seasiders gave their all following two successive tough games in Consett and Bishop Auckland.

The hosts were good value for their lead. Liam Potter nodded home the first, before Craig Moody’s double took the tally to three in the dying stages.

Paul Burton hailed their ability to press high and keep the ball, conceding that the second goal all but killed the game at a time when Marske were at their best.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed with the result.” He said. “I thought Bishop Auckland showed they are a very good side at this level.”

“They have a real threat up front and even though they set up in a 4-4-2, they push the wide players on and put teams under a lot of pressure.

“The aim was to try and keep things tight for the first twenty minutes to allow us to settle into the game.

“Conceding after eleven minutes wasn’t ideal, but I thought the lads worked extremely hard for the remainder of the half, and stayed in the game.

“Second half I thought we started well and had good spells of possession. We even created a couple of half chances.

“The second goal killed the game, and I thought we let our heads drop a little from that point. Overall, I can’t fault the effort of the players, but feel we could have kept the ball better at times.

“We have played two very good sides in Consett and Bishop Auckland over a 72-hour period. The lads have had to put a lot into both games, I think that maybe caught up with us a little last night.”