Eastbourne Borough 0 Weymouth 4.

ALLAN Tait has accused referee John Hopkins of wrecking Eastbourne Borough's hopes of a place in the second round of the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history.

Hopkins turned down Tait's appeal for a penalty when he was sent tumbling in the area by Neil Young during Borough's 4-0 defeat by Weymouth at a packed Priory Lane on Saturday.

Borough were trailing 1-0 at the time to Jefferson Louis' 53rd-minute header but crumbled after being denied the opportunity to level the scores from the spot.

Stuart Beavon hit a hat-trick in the last nine minutes to give the scoreline a misleading look but Tait insists the outcome could have been very different if Borough had been given the crucial decision.

Tait said: "I thought it was a clear penalty and so did their defenders. They all admitted they were lucky to get away with it afterwards and that makes it tough to accept.

"I turned my marker and he left his leg in. If I could have stayed on my feet I would have done because I had a clear shot at goal but the referee booked me for diving and that just rubbed salt in the wounds "It was a big decision and to get it wrong had a huge affect on the game. I'm not saying we would have gone on to win if he had given it but it would have given us a real chance to kick on and have a go.

"Instead it knocked the stuffing out of us. We should already have been 2-0 up at half-time with the chances we had created and then to concede a sucker-punch of a goal and have a clear penalty turned down made us feel like it wasn't going to be our day."

That incident in the 67th minute was one of a number of what ifs?' on an afternoon that promised so much but ended in disappointment.

Borough went into the game on the back of a 19-match unbeaten run and proved why as they cut Weymouth open on numerous occasions in the first half.

But when you are on top you have to make it count and their failure to convert a handful of good opportunities ultimately proved their downfall.

Scott Ramsay should have given the hosts the lead after just ten minutes when he found himself clean through from Matt Crabb's quick throw-in but shot tamely at goalkeeper Jon Stewart.

At least Matt Crabb forced Stewart into making two fine stops, first clawing the winger's effort around the post after he had burst clear and then reacting quickly to keep out a downward header on the stroke of half-time.

Andy Atkin did finally beat Stewart six minutes after the break but was denied by Young's goalline clearance and two minutes later Weymouth grabbed the lead out of the blue. Borough failed to properly pick up Louis when he came off the bench prior to a corner and the striker made them pay with a towering header.

While it was still 1-0 there was always a chance of a comeback but Beavon took advantage of tired legs in the closing stages to extinguish those hopes. He poked his first through Hook's legs, drilled a low shot past the keeper from 12 yards for his second and completed his hat-trick by following up after Hook had parried Louis' shot.

Borough boss Garry Wilson said: "We had more than enough chances in the first half to get ahead and if we had taken one of them it might have been a different story. I said to them at half-time we could pay the price for not taking our chances and unfortunately I was proved right.

"If we had got the penalty it would have given everyone a lift and then you never know but you've got to give credit to Weymouth because they were excellent in the last 20 minutes. It is an achievement for us to get to the first round proper, though, and I am proud of what we have achieved so far this season. The scoreline was a bit harsh but I think we've proved we can compete with teams like Weymouth.

"We know we've still got a bit to do but we'll get there and the important thing now is to bounce back. It is a shame the unbeaten run is over but we knew it would go at some point and now we've got to move on."

Eastbourne Borough: Hook, Baker, Lovett, Smart, Austin, Pullan, Harding (Budd, 69), Armstrong, Ramsay (Nathan Crabb, 69), Atkin (Tait, 64), Matt Crabb.

Subs not used: Lightwood, Ballard.

Weymouth: Stewart, Beavon (Platt, 90), Crittenden, Young, Robinson, Kitamirike, McCallum (Phillips, 89), Vernazza, Doe, Coutts (Louis, 52), Hart. Subs not used: Matthews, Weatherstone.

Would Borough have won if the penalty had been awarded?