It was a shattering end to the 2015 season for Andy Lennon and his men after a late-season resurgence guided them into the finals.

“I really am disappointed,” Lennon said.

“We are a better side than what we showed on Saturday.”

The Redmen struggled to retain possession with Gunnedah applying intense pressure on the ball throughout the match.

“You can’t give away that much ball in a semi-final and get away with it.

“We created chances and we didn’t take them.

“I’m very disappointed, but that’s the way it goes.”

Scores were locked at nil-all at half time on Saturday and it wasn’t until 10 minutes into the second half that the deadlock was broken.

In search of an equaliser, North moved more men forward, which ultimately resulted in them conceding a crushing second goal in the dying minutes to put the final nail in their season.

Lennon said his players struggled to cope with the physicality of Gunnedah FC.

“I think we got 10 or 12 fouls in the first 15 minutes,” he said.

“It was obvious what they were doing.

“It put our blokes off their game.”

The Redmen were on the back foot before the game even started with star Tyla Cook and two other key players unavailable.

“Tyla was out suspended, that was a huge loss for us,” Lennon said.

“We had a couple of others out as well.”

When reflecting on the 2015 season, Lennon was proud of what his young squad achieved.

“It was an indifferent season,” he said.

“We put a young squad together and experience is what we need now.

“I’m happy with how we played over the year.

“The club is in a strong position moving forward.”