In the end, it was a game too far, but the message coming out of the Papamoa dressing room in the wake of their 5-1 Chatham Cup exit at the hands of Birkenhead United was steadfast. No shame, no complaints.

In truth this season's run to the third round is Papamoa's best-ever placing in the competition – a feat that manager Duncan Lowry was eager to underline after the final whistle.

By reaching the last 32 for the first time in the club's history, thanks to victories over Tuakau Waiuku and Bay Olympic, the reinvention of Papamoa has also been emphasised.

From back to front there are signs clear signs of progress. Academy product Liam Molloy continues to belie his apparent lack of experience, with the 15-year-old forward shining once more on Auckland's North Shore.

Between the posts, as he has been all season, keeper Ryan Foord was in imperious form. Despite shipping five goals, the stopper's performance earned him warm applause from the Birkenheadfans.

On another day, without Foord's reliable influence, five could well have turned into eight or nine.

In what were erratic conditions at Shepherds Park, the home side made their intentions clear from the first whistle, launching an early onslaught that saw them race into a two-goal lead.

And despite a glimmer of hope provided by second-half substitute Andrew Cooper, who halved the deficit following some good link-up play from Dean Styles, Birkenhead were far from finished, and moved through the gears to put the game beyond their Bay of Plenty visitors.

After the tie, a proud Duncan Lowry said: 'I'll never get used to accepting defeat, no matter who the opposition may be, but all credit to Birkenhead.

'They fully deserved their win and in the end you could see why there's a three-division gap between the two teams.

'But I'm certainly not disappointed with our performance. To have someone like young Liam (Molloy) coming on for the last 20 minutes illustrates the vision we have at our club.

'For us it is back to league action next week, where we intend to maintain our top-of-the-table position.

'We'll put this result behind us, but not before acknowledging our club's progress in this cup competition.

'When I came to this club it was my intention to win promotion. Here we are, almost halfway through season, and we're on track to make that happen.”

Papamoa's next game sees them face Te Awamutu away in the WaiBOP Premiership, on Saturday June 30 (2.45pm kick-off).

Papamoa FC (4-4-2): Ryan Foord; Campbell Higgins, Phillip Fletcher, Cole Peverley, DeanStyles; Fawwaz Ali, Isaac Bright, Top Khamwanthong, Alex Wilson; Mitchell Hales, Dave Molloy.

Substitutes: Mathew De Bono, Andrew Cooper, Strauss Boom, Liam Molly,

Harris Enlin (GK).