Bradford City boss Phil Parkinson was extremely proud of his side after their FA Cup run came to an end on Monday night.
The League One Bantams, who had beaten Premier League clubs Chelsea and Sunderland along the way, crashed 3-0 at the hands of Championship side Reading at the Madejski Stadium in the quarter-final replay.
It was a stunning tournament for Bradford to get all the way to the final eight and despite the nature of the defeat, Parkinson was delighted with his players.
"Reading were the better team on the night and we gave ourselves a mountain to climb," he said.
"They played with a spring in their step after that and we found it difficult to respond. A two-goal lead after 10 minutes lifted the whole crowd and their players but we have got to be immensely proud.
"This is tough to take, we wanted to progress but we have got to quickly move on and reflect on this year's competition.
"When you have these cup runs as a lower-league side there is always a danger you will have an off-day. The lads were deflated on the pitch and I couldn't wait to get them into the dressing room at half-time to give them a lift."
