IAN Brunnschweiler's goalkeeping heroics proved to be in vain as Brockenhurst saw their dreams of making the FA Cup first round proper ended by Bath City.

The Badgers number one was in scintillating form as he denied Bath's experienced and well-drilled outfit with a string of top-quality saves but he was ultimately powerless to prevent City's Scott Partridge claiming a fine hat-trick.

While this third qualifying round was the joint-furthest Brock had progressed in their 106-year history, player-boss Graham Kemp was honest enough to admit his big-hearted troops were "miles from the first round," even though they were just two games away from a potential money-spinning trip to a Football League club.

Although the Grigg Lane outfit were ultimately outclassed by a side who brought a vocal following of around 200 with them to the 402-strong attendance, it could all have been a different story if skipper Paul White had converted a 53rd minute penalty - just two minutes after Partridge had opened the scoring with an instinctive back-flick to divert Steve Jones' header.

White did not look like a man who had scored in three of the previous four rounds as he placed the ball on the spot after Alan Wright was bundled over in the box. While it could have been argued that the Bath defender should have been sent off as the last man, it was still a glorious opportunity to draw level.

But sure enough, Bath's giant of a goalkeeper, Paul Evans, guessed right and palmed away White's weak effort which all-but ended Brock's hopes there and then.

Although Bath were the better side in the first half, the work ethic of Kemp's side and Brunnschweiler's fine goalkeeping ensured the scoresheet remained blank as half-time arrived.

While Partridge - for whom Brentford paid £100,000 in 1999 - looked dangerous, his striking sidekick, John Williams had the look of a lumbering centre-forward whose prime was sometime near the Jurassic period.

In fact, Williams - now 36-years-old - once cost £250,000 when Coventry City were in the Premiership, scored 11 goals and has enjoyed a decent career in League football since.

He even won last year's event to decide the fastest player in non-league football so while his contribution had been close to non-existent up until the 61st minute, the striker showed a searing turn of pace as Bath broke for the decisive second goal.

Defending a Brock corner, Williams was quickly released on the right, destroyed Kemp for pace and crossed for Partridge to tap into an empty net from two yards out.

Seven minutes later and the tie was over as Partridge completed the scoring from the penalty spot. Brock defender Dominc Bryan challenged Brunnschweiler for the save of the match as he tipped over a goalbound effort and it came as no surprise as he saw red and the referee awarded the penalty.

Just as White didn't look like scoring with his, Partridge never looked like missing as he nonchalantly slotted home.

Brock's day was summed up as a blistering long-range effort from substitute Lee Winsall cannoned back off the angle of post and crossbar as the battling Badgers sought a consolation. While they didn't manage that, player-boss Kemp insisted they can hold their heads high after their fine run.

He said: "I'm proud of the boys but I've got no complaints about the result.

"We never thought we would get this far and while we'd have loved to have made the next round for everyone, the way Bath played in the second half showed we were miles from the first round proper.

"They were a much better side than Lewes or Burgess Hill and their second goal on the break was just different class."

Kemp, however, admitted that White's missed penalty had a huge bearing on the outcome.

He said: "It was a massive point in the game. Paul normally takes our penalties and he's scored a few for us in the last few games. There was no reason to think he'd miss but I think it was a comfortable save for their goalkeeper.

"Had we scored the penalty, it would have been a different game but five minutes later we were two down and the game was over."

Brockenhurst: Brunnschweiler, Grace, Morris (Woodward, 70), G Kemp, Hillyer, White (Marks, 70), N Kemp, Drew (Winsall, 62), Lovell, Wright, Bryan. Unused subs: Midgley, Potter.