RYE House boss John Sampford was in philosophical mood after the Raiders’ exit from the National League KO Cup on Tuesday.

RYE House boss John Sampford was in philosophical mood after the Raiders’ exit from the National League KO Cup on Tuesday.

Without skipper David Mason, who broke down en route to the Isle of Wight, the Raiders conceded 5-1s in each of the last four races to go down to a 58-31 defeat, for a 24-point aggregate defeat.

Sampford said: “We were competitive for nearly half the meeting and then it all went away from us. Although Shane (Hazelden) won Heat 11, when James (Sarjeant) stopped our hope of an 8-1 – which would have brought us back to within four points - was gone.

“If there’s a main plus coming out of this match, it’s that tonight has given us track time to shake off the cobwebs ahead of Monday’s League opener against Buxton. It’s also put us in good stead for when we return to the Island in the League in a month’s time.”