IT may have been a heartbreaker but Thornbury head coach Rob Higgitt hopes the club’s attempt to win promotion to the National League through the end-of-season play-offs will help them drive on in the next campaign.

Thornbury finished second in their Tribute South West One West division and took on Salisbury, from the South West One East, for a place in National League Three South-West next season.

But after attaining the highest finish in the club’s history, Thornbury were within seconds of taking that one step further until Salisbury kicked a penalty to win 26-24.

Higgitt, though, praised his side and said they will not be disheartened by the play-off defeat.

The Thornbury boss said: “It was always going to be a close match as the play-offs are between two teams who are used to winning all season.

“There was a lot of good stuff from us in the game and we do not feel downhearted at all. It’s frustrating because it is fine margins, but it does give us a platform for next season.”

And Thornbury can look forward to welcoming back some influential players who will boost the squad resources as they look to build again.

“Sam Higgins, James Murray and Tim Stevens have had long-term injuries and it is good to have that firepower coming back.”

Higgitt will, though, ensure his club put last weekend’s disappointment away quickly and get back to tackling a tough set of opponents in the South West One West division from this September.

He added: “While there are no easy games, we start again from scratch next season. In this league, there are teams which go from second to 10th.

“Some teams will turn up strong next season but we are keeping the majority of our squad and our goal is to continue to get better.

“If we can do that, then I would think we would be in the top mix at the end of the season.”