SHOLING boss Dave Diaper has stressed the importance of not letting the season just fade away.

While there is nothing but pride for the Boatmen to play for in their remaining six Evo-Stik Southern One South & West fixtures, they still have the May 5 Hampshire FA Senior Cup final against Gosport Borough to aim for at Fratton Park, and Diaper doesn’t want to drift into it on a tide of mediocrity.

Three more league points escaped them at Tiverton Town on Saturday where a goal in each half from Ethan Phillips ensured they left Ladysmead empty-handed.

Phillips’ eighth-minute opener was the only real talking point of a low-key first half – the forward cutting in from the right and firing an 18-yard shot through a forest of legs into the bottom corner.

Tivvy keeper Chris Wright made one save with his legs to deny Nick Watts, but it wasn’t until the second half that Sholing came to life.

They almost equalised soon after the restart when new loan signing Lewis Blackmore from Gosport Borough flicked a cross on to the unmarked Watts whose shot was beaten away by Wright.

But, against the run of play, Tivvy – who featured Eastleigh loan duo Tony Lee and Hussein Heidari - doubled their advantage on 52 minutes when Phillips’ innocuous-looking cross beat Sholing keeper Rory Anderson from 30 yards.

Half chances followed at either end before, at the death, Wright dived to his right to keep out Kev Brewster’s dipping 25.yard-free kick.

“If we’d started the first half like we started the second, there’s a good chance we would have won the game,” said Diaper, chewing over the 2-0 defeat.

“We played quite well, but gave away a sloppy first goal. Their guy’s cut in from the right and we should have closed him down.

“The second half was much better for us, although I think Rory will be disappointed to have let the second goal in.

“The lads put in a good shift second half and worked hard and even some of the Tiverton supporters came up at the end and said they didn’t know how they’d won.

“We’ve got no midweek game, but we need to train twice and make sure we get back on it and keep working for each other.

“The players need to be competing for places in the cup final.”

Sholing remain 17th and, with 16th-placed Tivvy now seven points clear of them, that is where they are likely to wind up.

Next up for the Boatmen is a stiff home challenge against league leaders Merthyr Town on Saturday.