KIDDERMINSTER Harriers manager Mark Yates paid tribute to his players after their FA Trophy heartbreak.

The Aggborough club were beaten 3-2 by Stevenage Borough in front of more than 53,000 fans at Wembley Stadium on Saturday after leading 2-0 at half-time.

James Constable scored twice in the first-half but Stevenage got their hands on the silverware with second-half strikes from Mitchell Cole, Craig Dobson and Steve Morison's 88th-minute winner.

Yates said: "I'm proud of my team, the chairman and the supporters who have travelled down. They were brilliant and hopefully this is the start of good times for them.

"I was pleased with the way we played. I thought we were excellent, there's no other word for it. We just conceded three sloppy goals but I'm not going to go on about that.

"The way we knocked the ball about and the way we put into practice what we've done on the training ground. It went off to a tee.

"I want the players to enjoy themselves for the next couple of days and then we'll sit down and work out what we need to do over the summer to make us better.

"We've got to use this as a springboard for next season."

He added: "The fans were fantastic, turning up in their numbers, but credit to Stevenage as well because they did the same.

"There's also credit to the Stevenage players as well. They should have been dead and buried but unfortunately we didn't finish them off."

Victory saw Stevenage win non-league's premier cup competition for the first time in their history after losing the 2002 final against Yeovil Town at Villa Park.

It also completed a hat-trick of triumphs for boss Mark Stimson who led Grays to glory in both 2005 and 2006.

He said: "At half-time I told my players to believe in themselves and that they are good players. I thought we would go on to win it if we got one goal back."