CANICE Carroll feels Oxford City have been ‘too soft’ in recent weeks, exemplified by their late defeat in the Emirates FA Cup.

Trailing 2-0 at home to Scarborough Athletic in the fourth qualifying round tie, the Hoops netted quickfire goals to draw level, however a special strike from Lewis Maloney ensured the away side progressed to the first round.

City had to fight back from 2-0 down in the initial clash with the Seadogs, as Carroll headed in a stoppage time equaliser.

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However, the centre back was left frustrated by the manner of their cup exit last night.

He said: “We got ourselves back in the game like we did on Saturday, but at the end of the day, we were second best for 180 minutes of football.

“What happened on Saturday was an eye-opener for us, with how physical some teams can be and us just rolling over.

“But we dug deep and got a last minute goal to take it back to our place. The same happened here and we weren’t good enough.

“Luckily we got ourselves back in the game. A bit of magic from their midfielder, but from our point of view, he probably had too much time on the edge of the box.

“The gaffer spoke to us after the game and I think in the last couple of weeks, we’ve been too soft and too nice to people.”