A brave effort wasn’t enough as Lichfield City FC missed out in the final of the Staffordshire Vase.
Gary Birch had rested a number of his players ahead of the game against Sporting Khalsa and it looked to have paid off when Mark Rose gave them the lead in the first half.
But their West Midlands Regional League opponents managed to pull level before the break when Craig Bannister netted.
Kyle Minto went close with a header early in the second half before Rose fired another effort just over.
But as the half wore on, it was Sporting Khalsa who began to find their rhythm, Lichfield keeper Jon Clough being forced to push an effort away before Bannister added his second with 15 minutes left.
Liam Holt thought he’d grabbed a dramatic equaliser five minutes from time but City’s hopes were dashed when the goal was ruled out.
And any hopes of sending the game to extra time were ended on 87 minutes when Bannister completed his hat-trick.
