Harrow Borough manager David Howell was proud of his players after their heartbreaking Ryman Premier play-off defeat at Tonbridge Angels.

The Reds fought back from 2-0 down on Tuesday night to force extra time but their promotion dreams ended in a 3-2 semi-final defeat.

But Howell said: “They have had a brilliant season and I’m very proud of them.

“If we were going out then we were going to go out fighting. It was a great effort and I couldn’t ask any more from them. We left it all on the pitch and unfortunately it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Boro started slowly as they conceded twice against a side they defeated twice during the season. But a brace from Rocky Baptiste brought them back into the tie and Howell felt his team were in the ascendancy.

He said: “We went out with more purpose in the second half and I felt from this period on we were the team likely to win it.

“We were the stronger team but we just didn’t do enough to pip them at the end.

“We had chances and the players feel as if they should have won the game. Tonbridge were on the backfoot and they were fearful and would have settled for penalties.

“We were in the ascendancy and they couldn’t cope with our fitness and pace.”

The Reds have been the surprise package of the season finishing as the highest scorers and earning their best finish, fifth, for 25 years.

However Howell accepts it will be a challenge to replicate their form next season.

He added: “It was hard this year but it will be even more difficult next season because of the expectation levels.

“We had no pressure this season but we’ve had a great year and next season people will be following us and looking for us to do well.

“But that is what we are in the game for and we want to play meaningful matches. I hope they take confidence and belief from this year and that we can be competitive again.

“I would like us to keep everybody and add some players. But we’re going to have to find players that we don’t know are out there because of our financial constraints.”