Skipper Phil Rhodes insisted Crowborough have bigger prizes to play for after seeing their Wembley dream come to an end.

A crowd of 772 saw Crows dumped out of the FA Vase by Kirkham and Wesham at the last-16 stage on Saturday.

It was a hugely disappointing defeat against a side that plays in the equivalent of County League division two.

Rhodes found the loss painful in more ways than one as he limped off with a hamstring injury near the end but he remains adamant that league success and promotion to the Ryman League is the club's No. 1 goal this season.

He said: "We are devastated we have lost 2-0 to a side that we believe we could have beaten if we had played at our best. They were an organised side but I think we have the better players.

"We definitely missed Justin Harris (who was suspended). He is so organised, so experienced and we lacked that organisation at the back.

"We have to win the league. That is what we are concentrating on. That is what we have said all along. If there was a choice of Wembley or winning the league it would always be winning the league."

The visitors' status needs to be put into context. They may play at a lower level than Crowborough but they are a club on the up.

They have a rich benefactor behind them, their squad is laced with players from professional backgrounds and they went into this game on the back of nine straight wins having not conceded a goal in 2008.

The match was delayed by ten minutes to allow a club record crowd -- the previous best stood at 275 - to pack into the redeveloped Crowborough Community Stadium but the bulk of them went home disappointed.

The hosts thought they had scored in the 23rd minute when Ross Treleaven netted after goalkeeper Pete Summerfield had spilled Dean Chamberlain's shot only for a linesman's flag to cut short their celebrations.

That launched their best spell of the match but they failed to make it count and the visitors never looked back after Phil Blackwell gave them the lead on 48 minutes.

A second goal from Sean Paterson 18 minutes from time merely confirmed their victory.

Crowborough joint boss Harry Smith, who together with Simon Colbran has guided the club further than they had ever been in the Vase before, said: "I was disappointed with the way we passed the ball. That is normally our strength but we just kept giving it away.

"You have got to give credit to them. I thought they were a good side and they have got a really good chance of going all the way if they get a good draw.

"For the first 20 minutes they looked after the ball and gave us some problems. After that we got into the game well but even when we got on top we still didn't use the ball as well as we should have done.

"There was a lot of disappointment in the changing room but I said to them now let's go and win the championship in style."

This defeat raises questions again about whether Sussex clubs can cut it at a national level but Smith defended the state of football in the county.

He said: "Kirkham have got a lot of money behind them. They have five or six players who have been with professional clubs.

"It is a rich area up there in the North East. There are a lot of big clubs but also a lot of little professional clubs like Bury and Altrincham and those players make a difference. But I think the Sussex sides have done well. Whitehawk did well last year and whereas five or six years ago the Sussex clubs didn't do well in the Vase or FA Cup they are now showing a lot more in the major competitions."

This is Kirkham and Westham's first year in the Vase and there is no reason why they cannot win the competition, particularly with Truro crashing out on Saturday.

Ironically, this will be Crowborough's last year in the Vase if they can put this disappointment behind them and make their Ryman dream a reality.

Crowborough: Oldroyd, Boddy, Adams (sub Baker 61), Rhodes (sub Crush 80), Godden, Sinclair, Clarke, Chamberlain, Tate, Ducille (sub Bishop 83), Treleaven. Subs not used: Freitas, Stone.

Kirkham and Wesham: Summerfield, Jackson (sub D.Shaw 75), Keefe, Thompson, Moffatt, Eastwood, Clark, Sheppard (sub Smith 60), Blackwell, Wane (sub M.Shaw 71), Paterson. Subs not used: Horsfall, Walwyn.

Referee: Mr A. Parker (Stanford-le-Hope).

Attendance: 772.

Did Crowborough deserve to lose?