Coach Lincoln Doull had some choice words to describe the end of his team's Hawke Cup campaign but wisely refrained, adding they were not fit for publishing in the newspaper.
"Gutted is a word that comes to mind and I could go on but I won't," Doull eventually stammered after the Jacob Smith-captained Pay Excellence Hawke's Bay senior men's team succumbed by 42 runs in Palmerston North on Sunday.
It was a timely reminder for the Bay men that the battle for minor association supremacy always comes down to playing for two days, not one.
The visitors at Fitzherbert Park won the toss and had the hosts 3-65 at drinks on Saturday in the crucial cup qualifying match before skittling them for 267 before padding up for 17 overs to be 40 without loss at stumps.
"Well placed for a big day tomorrow," an upbeat Doull said in his text message.