RADCLIFFE boss Jon Macken was pleased with his side’s performance in the Manchester Premier Cup despite being knocked out by FC United of Manchester.

Boro exited the competition on penalties after an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Neuven Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Blues came from behind twice and looked the better side towards the end of the game but they could not make their chances tell, much to the dismay of the manager.

“There were three of four good chances that we could have finished and you would hope to finish them on another day which was disappointing but overall I was pleased with the performance,” Macken said.

“I thought we played well, I thought in second half we played really well.

“We didn’t deserve it because we didn’t win but we created some great opportunities to win the game before it went to penalties.”

Macken had made four changes to the side which beat Hyde United 3-0 in the BetVictor Premier Division last Saturday, welcoming back Rick Smith, Sam Billington, Matthew Wolfenden and Matthew Williams.

Williams has had a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury and Macken was happy to see him fit and ready to slot into the starting 11.

“He has been out a long time and it was good to see him back and he played really well,” the Boro boss said.

“I thought he was outstanding considering it was his first game in a long time.”

Macken’s men, 18th in the table, travel to fifth-placed Nantwich Town on Saturday and the former Manchester City man knows his side are in for a tough afternoon against The Dabbers.

“They are a very good side, we’ve done a little bit of homework on them and we know they are a good side with some great players,” he said.

“It will be tough but we believe that we have the players, the structure and the plan to go and get a result and that is what we are aiming to do.”