KENDAL Town boss Dave Foster blasted his player's performance after they crashed out of the FA Cup to Newcastle Benfield in a dismal 4-0 defeat on Tuesday evening at the Lancaster and Morecambe Stadium.

The away side, who play in the Northern League Division One, struck all of their goals in the first-half and their defence was rarely tested as Kendal limped out of the famous competition at the first hurdle.

The Mintcakes earned a replay when they travelled to Sam Smith's Park on Saturday and played out a goalless draw but failed to take advantage of the home crowd and playing surface.

And the performance drew heavy criticism from Foster, who apologised to the fans for his team's outing.

"It was totally unacceptable," he said. "The first half was awful. All the basics went out the window; passing, winning tackles, keeping shape and mistakes for the goals, but more than all of that we were out-fought and out-battled. I am extremely disappointed and embarrased and sorry the fans have had to come watch that performance.

"At half-time I told the lads it wasn't acceptable and that they have let the club down badly. With it being a cup game it's a big price to play. It was a really inept.

"We have no excuses. They've played just as many game as us. I don't know whether we were nervous or lacked confidence, which we shouldn't be because we have been bubbly in training.

"One of the last things I said on Saturday was to make sure we turned up and gave a performance, which we did, but unfortunately it was a very poor one. It just wasn't good enough for lots of very fundamental reasons.

"We got them back here to our spot on a good surface but we just did not turn up."

Kendal host Brighouse Town, who sit in eighth place on seven points in the Evo-Stik First Division North, on Saturday and Foster expects his team to step up to the plate as they seek their first win of the season.

“They have had a very good start and it will be a tough game for us,” he said. “The longer it goes without winning the more difficult it becomes so I will be looking for a reaction on Saturday.”