Sam Denly blamed Sam Hasler’s moment of madness as Herne Bay crashed out of the FA Cup following a 5-1 home defeat by Hemel Hempstead on Tuesday night.

Attacking midfielder Hasler saw red seven minutes after half-time after reacting to a challenge, leaving Bay with 10 men.

Denly believed his team had still been in the FA Cup second qualifying round replay, despite trailing 3-1 to the Vanarama National League South outfit.

Denly said: “Their keeper made three ‘worldy’ saves on the stroke of half-time, and we were still in the game.

“The sending-off killed us. It was a moment of madness by Sam, who let himself, me and the team down, and unfortunately it cost us.

“He plays on the edge, we have had a chat, and it’s down to me to make sure he doesn’t do the stupid things that makes him the frustrating player he is.”

Hasler’s dismissal is the first setback in Denly’s quest to improve Bay’s poor disciplinary record, with the boss describing the defeat as a missed opportunity after the 1-1 draw in Hertfordshire on Saturday.

Bay have to pick themselves up ahead of the return to Ryman League Division 1 South action with a trip to Guernsey on Saturday (kick-off 2pm).

Gary Sayer (knee), Connor Sanders (hamstring) and Adam Woollcott (ankle) are ruled out, while Liam Quinn and Mark Lovell are both unavailable for the trip to the Channel Islands, with Bay due to fly at 8.30am on the morning of the match.