IT was a bitter pill to swallow, but a cup final victory was a bridge too far for Radcliffe Borough on Thursday night.

Boro's third game in six games, coupled with the occasion, meant that Peter Coyne's men didn't really do themselves justice in front of the magnificent crowd of 1,753.

Boro limited their opponents to very few chances, but failed to make many of their own, and weariness finally took its toll on Boro on 81 minutes.

Stuart Rudd was the inspiration for United's victory, crossing for Chris Baguley's opener and scoring the second in the final throes of the game.

And, it was the manner of the goals that eased the pain of Boro director of football Coyne.

"It's not nice getting beat, but their winning goal (the first one) was simply superb," said Coyne.

"It was a six-man move that ended with a fine cross from the right and a bullet header in the box. You don't mind getting beat as much when it is to fantastic goals like that.

"The lads gave everything and were out on their feet at the end of the game.

"We dealt with them really well in the first half, but the longer the game went on they started to create more chances. We just didn't create enough chances ourselves.

"We couldn't have done much more. The lads gave it their all and that's all I could ask of them."

The rebel reds, who had been reinstated to the competition after Nantwich were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player at the quarter-final stage, stormed out of the blocks and defender Rob Nugent had a second minute header cleared off the line by Tony Whealing.

Boro's best chance of the half - and game - came when midfielder Neil Chappell broke through on goal, only to hit his shot straight at keeper Sam Ashton.

FC United made a strong start to the second half, and top scorer Rory Patterson should have broken the deadlock when he fought off Craig Dawson only to skew his shot wide.

They got closer when Rudd sent a free header straight into the hands of Phil Priestley.

The breakthrough finally arrived with extra time looming. Rudd produced a great cross from the right to allow substitute Baguley to head home from close range.

Boro substitute Lee Connell had a golden chance to equalise when his header from Gary Sampson's cross was cleared off the line.

But, Rudd completed the job in the final minute when, with Boro caught upfield chasing an equaliser, he produced a neat finish to seal the victory.

Boro worked hard, none more so than skipper Simon Kelly, who gave a towering performance at the back, but they just didn't have enough quality to break down their opponents in the final third.

Cup finals can be won and lost with a single chance. Boro had theirs when Chappell spurned a golden opportunity. FC United didn't make any mistake, and that is why they deserved to have the red and white ribbons on the trophy come the final whistle.

BORO: Priestley, Sampson, Whealing, Kelly, Flynn, C. Dawson, Chappell (Hill), Forrest (Connell), M. Jones, Howson, Oates (Waine).