Devastated manager Chris Kinnear says the blame for Dover Athletic's second straight FA Trophy quarter-final exit to lower-league opponents lies squarely with his players.

Substitute Liam Shotton - brother of Stoke City's Ryan - was left unmarked to break Dover hearts with a 93rd-minute header to seal Whites 2-1 defeat at Nantwich on Saturday.

The Dabbers are two divisions and 45 places below Dover in the football pyramid and Kinnear admitted: "Very few times has it happened, but I think the lads thought they just had to turn up and win. You can tell them as much.

"I'm not going to run them down because we've had a great six weeks, lost one game, but today Nantwich wanted it more.

"We weren't winning knock-downs, they were causing us problems and unless you work hard in this game, you don't win."

Kinnear claimed he was not surprised by the quality of the hosts, sat eighth in Evo-Stik Northern League Premier Division adding: "They made it a big day for them, but that's their prerogative, good for them.

"If you're going win things you've got to do well, it's no good expecting just to win.

"We haven't done it all season, to be fair, it's just really disappointing that not playing well, we could have got them back to our place on Tuesday and look forward to trying to get the result there.

"I don't think we deserved to win the game at all, I thought we'd done enough to sneak a replay, but that's the way it is.

"It wasn't to be, they kept going, we gave the fella a free header and that costs you."

Kinnear reminded the players about the feeling of last season's last-eight exit at Vanarama National League South Bath in the run-up to this tie and admitted: "Maybe the pressure was a little bit too much. It is a young-ish side, but if you want to be sucessful in football and if you want to play at a higher level you have to live with that."

Dover return to their Vanarama National League play-off chase at Crabble on Tuesday night and Kinnear claimed: "Now we've got to just focus on Southport on Tuesday. It's not going to be easy but we've got to pick ourselves up.

"The fortunate thing is we still have lots to play for. It's not finished our season.

"Worse things happen. It's football. We've got to move on. There are going to be worst disappointments in the players' careers, they have to got to make the most of what they have got now."