THORNBURY Town are out of the Wiseman Lighting Floodlit Cup following a penalty shootout defeat to Tuffley Rovers on Tuesday night. 

Connor Walters and Yesh Lomotey put Tuffley 2-0 up before defender Rich Lee was forced to play in goal for the entire second-half and shootout after an injury to Rudy Stilgoe.

Lee became the seventh different goalkeeper to turn out for Thornbury Town this season as their goalkeeping crisis continues.

Despite the set-back, the visitors pulled one back before the break via debutant Bailey Croome, who signed a dual-registration agreement with Southern League side Cribbs before the game.

Thornbury piled on the pressure in the second-half but did not break Tuffley's resistance until the 90th minute when Joe McLaughlin's cross-come-shot found the far corner of the net. 

There was still time for Thornbury to go on and win the tie, but Croome's excellent attempt was brilliantly pushed onto the post by Tuffley goalkeeper Robin Hoffland.

With the scores level after 90 minutes, the game headed straight to penalties.

Stand-in keeper Lee's hopes of being the unlikely hero were denied though as Tuffley converted all five of their spot kicks to triumph 5-4 and progress to the second round where they will take on Slimbridge.

"We were poor in the first half an hour and it cost us," said manager Richard Joyce. "We changed the shape and looked a lot more confident in what we were doing.

"We got a goal back before the break and produced a good dominant performance in the second half so it was right that we managed to draw in the 90 minutes, and then penalty shootouts are what they are.

"We've had some awful luck with injuries this season. Mackenzie Welsh's broken thumb has caused us issues on the goalkeeping front and Rudy (Stilgoe) has been struggling of late, so it was even more bad luck he had to go off at half-time. 

"Massive credit has to go to Rich Lee for stepping in and performing really well in goal in the second half. That shows a lot of character to be able to put himself forward for that.

"We now have a short turnaround to get bodies rested and to be ready to go for a long trip to Hereford on Friday night and another away game."