Shoreham make it nine games without a win and Donnelly admits 'we're in dire straits'

Two early goals for the hosts left the Musselmen with a tough task of coming away with any points, and despite a goal back through top scorer Andrew Dalhouse midway through the second half, Shoreham couldn’t find the equaliser, having created a number of good chances.

Manager Sammy Donnelly described the match as ‘a game of two halves’ with Shoreham being worthy of at least a point with a strong second half display. Defensive errors lead to the two goal deficit but Donnelly was pleased with the side’s attempted fightback.

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He said: “First half we were kicking up the slope and they went 2-0 up fairly quickly. They dominated the first half, as we did in the second half. We pulled a goal back halfway through the second period and created several good chances to level or even win the game.

“Sometimes you can comeback and sometimes you can’t, on this occasion we couldn’t. It was disappointing that we lost the game.

“I always think it’s the manner in which you win and lose, we put up a really good second half performance. It’s a case of each individual learning from errors and learning not to

commit the same error twice.

“Second half all the players put a shift in, we just couldn’t pull it back. Sometimes you just run out of time. We must build on it, we can’t just be a second half side.”

With the squad still plagued with various injuries, Donnelly questioned the commitment of some of his players who are on the sidelines.

He said: “We’re in dire straits at the moment. Without being disrespectful, if you’ve got a strong bench then it helps. One or two have disillusioned me with their application.”

The defeat leaves Shoreham without a win since August 18th, having been knocked out of all cup competitions they’ve played in so far this season, as they look to regroup ahead of their game against winless Arundel at the weekend.

Speaking on Arundel’s winless start to the campaign, Donnelly said: “It’s definitely something to be wary of. When you lose a game, you want to go out and get the right result. Having said that, we haven’t won a couple of games for little while so we’re both in the same boat. We’ll be on our toes as well.

“We’ll have a good training session in this free week. If we put in the same effort as in the second half on Saturday, hopefully we’ll get something out of the game. You can never tell in football. It’s such a great game, you just never know what is going to happen.”

Arundel have drawn four and lost two so far this season, but have played two fewer games than the Musselmen.

Shoreham host The Mullets at Middle Road on Saturday afternoon.