MIDFIELD maestro Alex Woodyard says Concord Rangers’ “special” FA Cup journey has brought the team closer together.

Woodyard played in Tuesday’s First Round replay defeat to Mansfield Town, and was one of the Beach Boys’ star performers, spraying the ball around in midfield all evening.

The 21-year-old has been an ever-present figure in Concord’s midfield this term, and the former Southend United man says he and his teammates have taken a lot from the cup experience, despite the 1-0 defeat to the League Two side.

“This has been a great experience for us all,” he said. “We are a close group but moments like this are special and we have grown as a team through this.

“It goes to show there is not such a big gulf between the teams and we must make sure we use this experience for the rest of the season.

“We may have lost but this has been a positive experience for everyone and we mustn’t forget that.”

Concord’s best chance fell to Jordan Chiedozie with ten minutes to go but he shot over when he was played in by Tony Stokes.

Matt Fry, Lewis Taaffe and Sam Collins also came close but the hosts couldn’t find the goal they so desperately wanted.

And Woodyard said the underdogs did all they could to cause an upset.

“We pushed them all the way,” said Woodyard. “From the off we knew we had to be in their faces like we were last week and we worked really hard.

“We are a naturally fit team so we weren’t worried about that side of things. We got in some good positions and were creating chances but we didn’t make the most of those opportunities.

“Mansfield created some decent openings too and they took their best chance. This is what league sides do though and we were punished.”

The match was watched by Southend United manager Phil Brown and Woodyard said, although it didn’t work out for him at the Shrimpers, he hasn’t given up hope of returning to the professional game.

“We all want to be professional footballers but I am really enjoying playing here at the moment,” he said. “If I can keep impressing people then great but I just want to keep doing what I’m doing for Concord Rangers.”