There wasn't much to cheer about in Hampton & Richmond Borough's woeful FA Cup exit on Saturday - unless your name is Graham Harper.

The Beavers full-back played the last five minutes of the 1-0 home defeat to Brackley, six weeks to the day after suffering lung damage in the home win over Bath City in September.

Harper spent five days in hospital after he began coughing blood, and although tests revealed no puncture, the inside of the lung was black and blue.

And the former Whyteleafe man admitted it's been a frustrating road to recovery.

He said: "It was the most annoying injury I've suffered.

"I broke my tibia and fibia when I was 14 and knew I was going to be out for about six weeks, whereas with this I didn't know if it was going to be four weeks or four months because you can't judge when you are going to be alright.

"I thought at the time I'd just been winded, and when I got off the pitch I assumed I'd broken a rib or something.

"But when I started coughing up blood I realised it was a bit more serious."

Harper's brief cameo couldn't rescue Hampton from defeat to their Southern League Premier opponents, ending a run of seven successive wins.

The visitors got what proved to be the winner on 55 minutes, Josh Green heading home a corner at the far post.

Brackley keeper Richard Knight preserved the slender lead with a stunning reflex save from in-form striker Ben Wright's half volley three minutes later.

And Green ensured a famous win, clearing substitute Ian Hodges' header off the line with 10 minutes to go.

* BEN WRIGHT insists he has had no approaches from Football League clubs.

The in-form 19-year-old summer arrival from Fleet has been the subject of interest from the likes of Yeovil, Notts County and Swindon.

But he admitted missing out on a place in the FA Cup First Round Proper was a lost chance to further draw attention to himself.

He said: "The first round would have been a good shop window for me and all the boys really.

"Everyone would have had a chance of being looked at, but it's not to be.

"It's news to me that I'm being watched. A few of the lads were talking to me before the game, about whether I was being looked at or not, but I don't know anything about it. It would be nice if they were though."