Manager's Post Match Comments: Brightlingsea

​"That was certainly some of the most farcical conditions I’ve seen football played in," said Manager James Bracken following the 4-3 loss at Brightlingsea Regent.

"We can’t complain though. It’s the same for both teams. But it certainly made it nothing like a game of football. It was a war of attrition… an ugly game. Seven horrible goals and unfortunately, we let in one too many of those.

"We should’ve done better in the first half, especially for a couple of the goals. The referee has had a massive hand in a couple of them too. But concede four goals in the first half and you’ve always got a mountain to climb.

"That said, we had a go in the second half and credit to the lads. 4-1 down and it can go one of two ways. They took it with the right attitude and was a much more positive second period. With a bit more luck, we could’ve nicked another.

"You have good days, you have bad days and then you have these days. You can’t look back and analyse that. We just need to draw a line under it and concentrate on the next game.

"The first goal had nothing to do with the wind and we have to be critical of our mistakes on that. To concede so early on, set the tone for the game and with that wind at their backs, it gave them the confidence to put us to the sword. Fair play to them, they did that by putting four past us. We didn’t help ourselves in the early stages. My brother will be the first to say that he should’ve punched the corner ball away rather than trying to catch it. So we have to be critical in parts but there’s also a level where you look at the conditions and the pitch and need to give them some leeway. The reaction after half time is what I’ll judge the day on.

"That reaction is what we’ll need going into the derby match with Kingstonian next week. It’s a massive game for everyone. They’re on a good run and notched another good result against Bognor Regis. We’ll be doing everything we can to get prepared for this. Tactically, mentally, I’ll ensure we’re prepared for what K’s will bring and be prepared to get the three points we perhaps should’ve picked up today.

"We’ll be up for it and it’s up to us to ensure we do enough in the early stages of the game to get a grip of it, get the fans behind us and hopefully, we can then carry each other right through to the final whistle with three good points."