Sleaford Town 2 Pinchbeck United 1
Boss Lewis Thorogood bemoaned a sloppy first half as his Pinchbeck United side were beaten 2-1 at Sleaford Town on Saturday.
The Knights stay in the Uhlsport UCL Premier Division North drop zone after first-half goals from Danny Durkin and Joe Smith at a very wet and windy Eslaforde Park.
Ben Johnson did pull one back for Pinchbeck with a 25-yard screamer late on, while Kyle Onyon missed a golden chance to grab an even later leveller.
Thorogood, who admitted that his side weren’t on the same level as the 2-0 win at Boston Town the previous week, accepted that Sleaford deserved their win on the day.
“The pitch wasn’t ideal for either side,” said Thorogood. “It made the Sir Halley look lilke Wembley!
“It was a very difficult day all round. I think we thought it’d probably be off and the conditions and pitch made it hard for both sides.
“But we can only look at ourselves, we weren’t at the same level as the week before in terms of effort and work rate.
“We didn’t get the basics right and conceded a very poor first goal that seemed to trickle into the net.
“Their second goal was very typical of Sleaford, it was powerful and hard to stop really.
“We did improve after the break and got a really good goal back through Ben Johnson.
“Kyle Onyon had a great chance to equalise late on too, but he scuffed his one-on-one straight at the keeper.
“The changes we made late on seemed to help and I’m pleased with the response.
“But let’s be honest, the way Sleaford line-up now they are a top six side at this level. If they’d had this group of players at the start of the season, they’d be right up there for sure.
“On balance, Sleaford deserved their win. But we would have been right in the game if it wasn’t for the sloppy first goal we conceded.”
Pinchbeck: Smith, Worthington, Fixter, Robson, Stevens, Gagyi, Sheriff, Peasgood, Williams, Onyon, Johnson. Subs used: Melson, Spafford, Millar. Not used: Hollingsworth, Kacirek.
Attendance: 168.
