MAY’S ecstatic scenes at Wembley must have seemed like a lifetime ago for shell-shocked Sholing on Saturday.

Just four months after proudly lifting the FA Vase on north London’s hallowed turf, they were torn apart 7-1 on the 3G surface at Merthyr Town in the Southern One South & West, writes Wendy Gee.

There had been no indication of the humiliation to come when the Boatmen went in 1-0 up at half-time thanks to a 27th minute Nick Watts strike set up by Dan Mason’s flick-on from goalkeeper Matt Brown’s long clearance.

But two goals in two minutes by Ian Traynor put Merthyr in command after the break and, by the 50th minute, the visitors were 3-1 down after Kerry Morgan had seized on a mistake and lobbed Brown .

Sub Kris Leek piled on the agony with Merthyr’s fourth and then Jarrad Wright and Ryan Newman added numbers five and six before Morgan struck again after Brown had spilled the ball.

Admitting his side were guilty of “poor defending” against the new league leaders, Sholing co-boss Mick Marsh, pictured below, said: “Merthyr changed their shape second half and we didn’t concentrate.

“You could see the gulf between the teams and their budgets by miles. Merthyr have got three former Welsh internationals and they’re a seriously good side, but it wasn’t about them, it was about us. We didn’t execute the basics.

“We stopped competing in the second half and it’s found a few people out.

“I’m not going to say it was down to the (3G) pitch either.

“Of course it’s different to grass and Merthyr train and play on it every week. It’s an interesting concept, but it’s not the reason we got beat.

“We competed well in the first half and Nick Watts should have scored another goal, but we didn’t show up for the second half.”

While a defeat of this magnitude is a huge comedown for third-to-bottom Sholing, it was perhaps inevitable that the loss of Vase heroes Tyronne Bowers, Lee Bright, Marc Diaper, Lee Wort and Mike Carter over the summer would take its toll.

“When you lose the spine of the team and try to rebuild it, this is the painful experience you have to go through,” Marsh reflected.

“We can do one of two things now. Either we can roll over or we can regroup, learn from it and try and go again.

“We’ve got games coming up against teams who are going to be around us as we go through the season and these are the games we should be looking at to give us the foundation to move on.

“We play Fleet Town at home on Wednesday (7.45pm) and they’re going to look at today’s result and see us as vulnerable, so it’s important we respond.

“We’ll have Alex Sawyer and Sam Olaofe back, but we’re still without Lewis Fennemore, Jack Smith, Alex Baldacchino and Pete Castle, all injured.”

Second-to-bottom Bashley doubled their points tally to two with a 1-1 home draw against Bishops Cleeve.

Former AFC Totton defender Matt Oldring gave the Foresters the lead from the penalty spot before Harlie Price equalised with five minutes to go.