Bosses at Oswestry’s The New Saints football club said today their players could hold their heads up with pride despite exiting the European Champions League.

The Park Hall-based outfit crashed to a 3-0 defeat against Anderlecht in Brussels last night, losing the tie 6-1 on aggregate.

But their European adventure continues with a place in the Europa League competition and club bosses said the players had to remain positive.

And the club helped to put Shropshire on the map with fans from across the region, including Telford, and further afield in Wolverhampton.

General manager Ian Williams said: “To lose is always disappointing but the game was a fantastic experience for our players and will help us in the future.

“It was a great atmosphere and I think there were about 21,000 people in the stadium which is a fantastic experience for a club like us.

“We brought over about 50 fans and it was great to see fans from all over the region coming over to support us.

“Our European adventure has caught the imagination of football fans in Oswestry and further afield and we would like to thank them for their support. Anderlecht are a very good team and I think our players did well to compete at that level.

“Although we are disappointed we are not too down-hearted. We have to remain positive. We still have the Europa League to look forward to. The draw for the play-off games will take place on Friday so we will know who we have to face very soon.”

He said: “We are hoping we get another glamour tie in the play-offs.”