TWO defeats in three days have pushed AFC down to ninth place in the league but failed to dampen spirits and expectation ay High Easter Road.

Border League Div One

Barnston AFC 0 Lawford Lads 3

TWO defeats in three days have pushed AFC down to ninth place in the league but failed to dampen spirits and expectation ay High Easter Road.

The boys in blue put up a strong fight against champions elect Lawford Lads on Monday and held them to nil-nil at half time, something no other team has managed this season.

But three second half strikes in a mad ten minutes put the visitors on the back foot and they found it difficult to get back into the game.

The defeat came off the back of a narrow 3-2 loss at home to fourth-place Clacton United on Saturday, despite goals from top scorer Tim Shaw and Mike Morgan.

Manager Leighton Williams said: “This was a fantastic effort from us for the large part. Lawford were given a torrid time and made to work hard for their three points.

“The really disappointing thing for us is that yet again we failed to concentrate for a full 90 minutes, and this has cost us three goals today, and two goals on Saturday.”

Williams said that his team’s failure to clear their lines effectively was the main reason for two defeats on the spin and he urged them to communicate better in future.

He added: “Going on these performances it is clear that we possess a team that is capable of competing at the top of this division next season, but only if they learn to concentrate for 90 minutes, or else they will find they needlessly drop a lot of points.”

Next: Barnston host Boxted Lodgers on Saturday. Kick off 1pm. Third-place Barnston Reserves are gunning for promotion and have a clash with fourth place Mersea Island Res. Kick off 4pm.