THE New Saints boss Scott Ruscoe questioned the attitude of his players after their second cup exit on penalties this season.

Saints drew 1-1 with second division side Bangor City, who went on to win a penalty shootout to send TNS out of the Welsh League Cup in the second round.

It is the second time in a matter of weeks Ruscoe's men have been knocked out of a cup competition on penalties, after losing to Stenhousemuir in the the Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup.

The TNS boss was disappointed with his players, and felt as though they lacked the right attitude required to win a cup game.

"I didn't think we were good enough overall; we huffed and puffed a little bit, but we were sloppy and we didn't keep the ball well," Ruscoe said speaking to TNSTV after the game.

"We lacked a little bit of fight. Bangor didn't really trouble us, but they had the commitment and desire to go out and win a cup game.

"It sort of looked, attitude-wise, as though some players thought it was going to be easy and we'd just get through – these things will come back and bite you on the bum, because if your attitude isn't right first and foremost, you will get undone."

Bangor looked the stronger side in the first half, and were rewarded with a goal after the break – a Bangor corner towards the near post was flicked past Paul Harrison into the net to give the hosts a deserved lead.

Saints drew level with 13 minutes of play remaining through Kurtis Byrne's strike, before the Irish forward nearly won the tie in the dying minutes, forcing a great stop from Gabriele Brino.

Despite having a number of regular squad members unavailable on the night, Ruscoe said there was no excuse for the performance, and insists his side must improve on Saturday.

He added: "That [TNS] team is good enough to win any Welsh Premier game, so there are no excuses on my part.

"I told the players they've got to pick themselves up, we've got a big game on Saturday.

"If we play anywhere near like that, we'll get beaten and they'll be four points clear of us.

"We need to rest and we need to train very well on Thursday and Friday, to prepare for a big Welsh Premier League game."

Saints will look to bounce back with a win over current league leaders Barry Town at home on Saturday (kick off 2.30pm).