'I don't know whether to be delighted or down in the dumps!' Craig Elliott reacts to Boston United's thrilling fightback against Curzon Ashton

The Pilgrims boss was full of praise for his squad’s fighting spirit and dominant display, but made it clear his side should never have allowed themselves to be so far behind with less than half-an-hour remaining.

“I’m not really sure what to make of it all really. I don’t know whether to be delighted or down in the dumps,” Elliott told The Standard.

“But great character. Great character.

“I felt it was harsh to be 3-0 down, they’d been our box about five times all game.”

Jake Dunwoody, Danny Shaw and Ben McKenna made the most of generous defending from the hosts.

“They were horrendous goals, mistakes,” added Elliott, who never thought his side were completely out of the contest.

“We got punished but the flipside is an amazing comeback.

“We talked at half time and genuinely I felt we had three or four goals in us after the chances we created first half.”

Brad Abbott netted twice and Reece Thompson was also on target as the Pilgrims stretched their unbeaten run to nine matches.

But should Boston, who saw Gregg Smith’s late effort cleared off the line, have won it?

“I think on chances, yeah,” Elliott added.

“But the harsh reality is you can’t concede three goals at home and expect to win matches.

“It was a great game and you’ve got to take it for what it is.

“We’ve done more than enough to win a game today. We’ve played worse and won.”