The Border side was beaten 2-0 by a clinical Bulleen outfit at Lavington Sportsground on Wednesday night.

Bulleen controlled the first half and took the lead at the half-hour mark when Josh Knight was left unmarked in the box on a set piece and finished his opportunity.

They maintained the 1-0 advantage at the break, but the momentum swung Murray's way in the second stanza.

The hosts dominated the opening 20 minutes of the half and missed two quality chances.

Melkie Woldemichael weaved his way through the Bulleen defence in the 58^th minute, only to send the ball over the bar, and three minutes later Zac Walker was gifted a one-on-one but sent it straight at the keeper's chest.

Knight added a second inside the final five minutes to seal a berth in the sixth round for Bulleen.

Murray coach Elliot Jones was a little disheartened by the result, but admitted the effort was much better than the weekend's 5-3 defeat to Manningham United in the league.

"As long as those non-negotiables are there at the start, you're always going to be in the game," Jones said.

"We made another error on a set piece, which was frustrating and they went 1-0 up, but we really thought we were in the game.

"I thought there was a 15 to 20-minute period after half-time where we were building and building, but goals change games.

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"Zac had a one-on-one with the keeper and doesn't score, but if that goes in we might have been talking about a different result because we were starting to run over them.

"I think we all thought we created enough chances to win that game.

"They brought their strongest side down and it was a really good hit-out."

Jones felt attacking weapon Tom Youngs wasn't quite at his best, but threatened at different stages.

"It just wasn't quite working," Jones said.

"In saying that, he's always so dangerous and he brings others into the game.

"Melkie (Woldemichael) looked really good in the final third.

"Sometimes the ball can fall your way and other times it doesn't, we'll really work hard on getting that connection in the final third and that final pass and finish.

"You never like to lose, but we take some positives and really focus on getting a run going in the league."

Murray hits the road to face Brunswick City in the league on Saturday.

"I feel like we're starting to get players back in the fold and some guys back from injury," Jones added.

"With that, there will be pressure on for spots and that's exactly what we need going forward."