Witney's record defeat by Chinnor in the Oxfordshire Cup final will not take the gloss off a successful season.

That’s the message from Witney’s coaches following their 68-0 destruction by the National 3 South West outfit at Iffley Road on Sunday, which brought to an end a campaign which saw them secure promotion from Southern Coun-ties North.

“Promotion was alaways our chief aim,” said head coach Phil Harper.

“Reaching the cup final was always a bonus. Although we’ve had a heavy defeat, it was still a great day out for our great supporters.

Witney’s assistant coach John Campbell said: “It was possibly a game too far after a long season.

“I thought the sin-binning of Owen Fowler was a little harsh.

“They scored 21 points while he was off the field, and we were never able to get into the flow and were always chasing the game after that.

“Chinnor showed us respect and there was no show-boating on their behalf.

“But the two-level gap bet-ween the sides showed.”

Campbell also praised the support they had from a crowd of more than 700.

“It’s seemed that half the town has come out to support us and we are very grateful to them.

“When we teamed up as co-aches, we said give us three years and we’ll gain promotion. This the third year and we’ve achieved our aim.

“The last time we gained promotion , we were an ageing side and could not stay up.

“This time I’m confident we’ll hold our own in mid-table.” Chinnor’s head coach Jason Bowers had praise for their beaten opponents.

“Witney never gave up and showed great spirit. I thought they were outstanding. But for us, it was a lovely way to end the season.”

l Match report on Page 39