Scarborough Athletic manager Jonathan Greening on why concentrating on the league is more than just an empty phrase for Seadogs

The Seadogs' Cup run lasted longer than expected, reinstated when it emerged Forest Green Rovers used an ineligible player in round one to scrape a home replay they won 5-2.

The League Two side were sent back to North Yorkshire for a game they came through 4-2 on Tuesday.

But Greening saw enough to encourage him that a play-off push is possible despite an inconsistent start to the league campaign.

With two games in hand, Scarborough are five places but only four points outside the play-offs they missed last season by two goals' difference.

"I said to the players it's over with now, we've got the league to concentrate on and we've got to really go for it because I think Kiddy (Kidderminster Harriers) were in a similar position last year, mid-tableish," said former Middlesbrough and Manchester United midfielder Greening. “They had a really strong second half of the season which carried them through to the play-offs to get promoted.

"We've just to keep putting performances in for the second half of the season and hopefully climb up the league and into the play-offs."

Tuesday's performance filled Greening with belief.

"I think we were very unlucky,” he said. “I thought we were the better team overall, just a bit of naivety set in, a couple of mistakes by us, a couple of mistakes by the referee. I think one of them (Forest Green) goals was definitely offside, the second goal Bailey (Gooda) gets fouled in the run-up to it, he gets clipped, which is disappointing, we probably should have had a penalty where they handballed in the box.

"But in terms of the overall performance I thought we played some really good stuff.

"In three games we've probably been the better team in five halves. It's only the first half in the second game where they absolutely battered us for 30 minutes."

Forest Green are at Blackpool next week for the right to travel to Nottingham Forest in round three.