CWMBRAN Town boss Brian Coyne, pictured, last night paid tribute to his side's battling performance after they lost 3-0 to Israeli side Maccabi Haifa in a UEFA Cup clash.

The Crows now have there work cut out when they travel to Izmir in Turkey for the second leg of the qualifying tie - but Coyne (pictured) was still proud of his men.

He said: "I'm absolutely delighted with my players and they can all hold their heads high.

"Their discipline was superb and they never gave up even after conceding the early goal.

"Our preparation for this game has not been ideal and to be honest I was surprised with the fitness levels of my boys. I'm proud of them. We could have maybe kept the ball better but everything I asked from my team they delivered."

But despite Coyne's tribute, his players were still disappointed following last night's defeat.

"At half-time we set ourselves the task of not conceding another goal," said Coyne.

"We wanted to go to Turkey with something to play for and 2-0 would have given us that.

"We also wanted to show that we could keep a clean sheet for a half so to concede such a late goal is disappointing and the players are upset about that.

"I think in the end the fitness was the difference and that is why they have managed to score so late on."

But Coyne predicted that the return in a fortnight will see a different Cwmbran performance.

He said: "We played a certain way and to an extent I think it worked.

"But in two weeks time we'll be fitter and would have played some competitive league games and that will help.

"It's back to preparations for Sunday's opening league game at Welshpool and after that performance my players can be very confident going into that match."

Coyne's opposite number Roni Levi praised Cwmbran's performance, saying: "They gave everything and never gave up.

"They ran with all the power they had and I was impressed with them.

"I'm satisfied with my team's play and our job is half done."