Ian Dunn was left to rue a late defensive lapse as his Pinchbeck United side were beaten 3-2 at Netherton United in the ChromaSport PDFL Premier Division on Saturday.
Dwayne Rankin’s late winner ended Pinchbeck’s run of ten wins on the spin in all competitions – and left them with an uphill task to clinch second place in the standings.
Player/boss Dunn got in behind the home defence following a Tony Edwards assist to give his side a 1-0 lead at The Grange, but a deflected Steve Mastin effort made it 1-1 at the break.
Adam Scott then struck to put the home side ahead for the first time in the second period, only for Liam Ogden to fire home a fine leveller from distance after Netherton made a mess of a clearance.
It remained 2-2 up until the final few minutes, when sub Rankin scuffed home a winner after Pinchbeck failed to deal with a cross.
Dunn admitted that neither side deserved to win a game he felt was littered with mistakes.
“I don’t think we deserved to lose,” said the striker. “I spoke to their manager after the game and we both felt a draw would have been the right result.
“You could argue that all five of the goals were scored because of errors, it’s just a shame that we made one more than them.
“I think a little bit of naivety cost us at the end. We just switched off and didn’t deal with the ball, which is a shame.
“Obviously it’s disappointing as we’d been on such a good run, but it’s always hard coming to Netherton. A draw would have been fair, but we have to take it and move on.”
Pinchbeck now face a tough derby date with champions-elect Moulton Harrox at Knight Street on Tuesday night (6.30pm).
Harrox just need a point to be confirmed as league winners.
Follow @Andrew_Clucas and Twitter for updates from that one.
Pinchbeck: Ashton, A Murrell, B Murrell, Brooks, Withers, Bishop, Wright, Gardner, Ogden, Edwards, Dunn. Subs used: Eyes, Francis, Sae-Be. Not used: Leggett, Lawrence.
