Loxwood 'punished' in defeat to East Preston

It was an afternoon to forget for Walsh, who indicated the game was a proverbial ‘six-pointer’ in the build-up, as the Magpies went five goals down, only grabbing a consolation in added-time.

Jack Williamson opened the scoring after 30 minutes and the visitors doubled their lead after half-time through Chris Darwin.

Daniel Simmonds added a third just five minutes later while Ryan Barratt made it four in the 67th minute.

Simmonds grabbed his second on 76 minutes before Tim Bennett got one back for the hosts just before the final whistle.

With Pagham and Lingfield also winning, it drops Loxwood even further away from safety, with Walsh’s side now nine points behind the Lions.

Speaking on another defeat, the Loxwood manager said: “We got punished massively based on the fact that the teams around us all won. It was a very bad weekend for us.

“We were miles off the levels that I would expect. We just weren’t at the races and definitely deserved to lose the game. We’ve all got to put our hands up and say we were not good enough.

“It’s a shame really because every other game we’ve shown fight and guts but we just couldn’t get anywhere near those levels.”

He continued: “When East Preston were up against it, we couldn’t punish them and then when they were on top, they were clinical, so it comes down to game management.

“We know we’ve got a massive task now with other teams winning around us. It adds to the challenge but we know we’ve got to beat the teams in and around us. East Preston were in and around us but now they’ve got a lot more daylight.”

On where these wins will come from, Walsh added: “I’m just hoping we can have a little bit of luck on our side and get over the line.

“Scraping out a victory will hopefully give us the incentive and ammunition to go into the remaining games and get ourselves above water.

“We’ve got to start believing more in ourselves, have a bit more confidence, and go out and get the first goal instead of chasing games all the time. It’s easier said than done but we are working hard to do that.”

Loxwood travel to Langney Wanderers this Saturday.

Loxwood: D’Cruz, Frankland, Beda, Webster, Elmellas, Slaughter, Hawkes (Colbran 70’), Goldson (Bennett 46’), Magrath, Karl, Brodie. Unused: Dunningham