Plucky but unlucky Gateshead got a huge pat on the back from skipper Sam Kitchen today for making him "one of the proudest men in football."

The tenacious Tynesiders went out of the FA Cup in a 1-0 first round defeat at Second Division Cambridge United but only to a goal scored 12 agonising minutes from the end by substitute John Taylor.

And Kitchen, one of the stars of what he described as "a brilliant all-round effort" by the Unibond League Premier Division Club, insisted: "I have been in the game for a long time, but I can't remember feeling the way I do today.

"It is a mixture of pride and sadness - pride because of the way everybody battled and sad because we conceded the only goal so late in the tie."

Gateshead, without suspended striker Steve Preen, had forward Keith Fletcher sent off for two yellow cards.

Fletcher was convinced that the ball had not gone over the line after it dropped off the bar following Taylor's 12-yard shot.

The protests produced a second booking and Kitchen said: "We were gutted about Keith and about the goal.

"I honestly thought we were on our way to a replay at our place. Now, instead, we have Whitby in a League Cup match at the International Stadium on Wednesday night and that at least gives us a perfect chance to get Saturday out of our systems."

Kitchen was also keen to praise the Gateshead fans who made the trek to Cambridge.