Pat Rayment laid into his under-performing Spalding United side as they crashed 3-1 at Chasetown on Saturday.
Goals from Ryan Wynter (16), James Dance (48) and Nicky Turton (74) accounted for the Tulips in the Evo-Stik League First Division South clash, with Josh Moreman (60) getting their sole reply.
The defeat was a third in five games in all competitions for Rayment’s side – and the boss branded the performance “amusing”.
“Other than Nathan Stainfield and Neal Spafford, none of my players performed to their ability,” barked the Tulips chief. “With eight out of ten outfield players under-performing, we had no chance.
“There’s a lot of ability in my squad, but you wouldn’t know it. I’ve been saying it all season, but we’re just playing nowhere near our potential.
“A lot of my players can’t do the basics. I appreciate there have been changes, but it’s not good enough. It’s amusing, but not in a good way.”
Already depleted through injury with last year’s leading scorer Tom Waumsley sidelined with damaged ankle ligaments, the Tulips suffered an early setback when striker Jake Newman limped out of the game with a pulled hamstring after just 16 minutes.
Although bringing on a replacement forward in Charley Sanders, the Tulips showed little threat going forward. While playing into the wind and driving rain in the first half, Moreman fired a shot just wide with keeper John Bateman beaten.
Chasetown, however, looked much the sharper with some good movement and it was little surprise when The Scholars opened the scoring.
Stan Mugisha made a good run into the penalty area and was denied by a goalline clearance, but saw the ball ricochet to Wynter – who turned with his back to the goal and curled it into the bottom corner.
The Tulips were looking to start a little brighter in the second half but, after a sloppy pass in the midfield, Chasetown broke quickly and Dance scored with an excellent left-foot finish on 49 minutes, curling high into the net and beyond debutant keeper Michael Emery.
This early setback seemed to spur the Tulips into life and they started to exert pressure on the home defence. After a number of corners and a couple of near misses, Moreman reduced arrears on the hour with a trademark run and shot from the byline which went under the keeper at his near post.
Spalding saw a penalty shout for handball turned down before Chasetown broke away and, with the Tulips momentarily distracted, substitute Turton ran free from the halfway line and fired past Emery.
This knocked the stuffing out of the Tulips’ revival and Chasetown played out the remaining 15 minutes with little threat to their goal.
Tulips: Emery, Walker, Jackson, Spafford, Stainfield, Murphy, Griffiths, Bell, Newman (Sanders 16), Lawlor (Banister 67), Moreman. Not used: Hussey.
Attendance: 152
