BRIDPORT RESERVES 1 SHAFTESBURY TOWN 2

BRIDPORT boss Robin Townsend slammed his side’s fitness and desire after they fell to defeat against Shaftesbury at St Mary’s Field.

A Ben Clarke leveller in the second half was not enough for the Bees to get anything out of the contest, and leaves them 10th in the Dorset Premier League pile.

“We started pretty poorly and they were a lot brighter than us,” Townsend said.

The home side fell behind on 35 minutes having failed to defend a corner, and from the resulting header, Shaftesbury’s Rob Froud reacted well to tuck the ball away.

Townsend added: “The ball has come in from a corner and we have not defended it as per the norm. We had a bit of a chat at half-time, we were definitely the stronger and better side but what cost us in the end was a little lack of desire.”

Clarke’s sublime individual goal, made it 1-1 just past the hour mark, as he beat four men and stroked his shot into the net.

“We should have gone on and taken the game to them from then,” the Bees’ boss claimed.

“But a lot of the players have to have a look themselves, their fitness and their desire of playing in this league.”

Having lost the ball 25 yards from their own goal, Bridport failed to close down Jason Beale, whose powerful effort left keeper Jamie Fry unsighted to seal the game 10 minutes from time.

Townsend said: “We just aren’t fit enough and the biggest criticism I can give my players is they haven’t got the desire to come training, and on the pitch it showed after an hour.

“We had a bit more of a go in the last 10 minutes to get an equaliser but it never looked like we were going to score.

“I don’t usually say a lot after a loss to the players because they don’t usually want to talk to me. But I have said to one or two of them now that they have got to be coming to training and getting fitter.

“I keep banging on about it and it might be time for one or two to move on, we will just have to see what happens.”

Bees: Fry, Baggs, Taylor, Day (Gall 80), Stordy (Scovell 65), T Gale, H Fleet, Cummings, Fouracre (Herbst 60), Bulman, Clarke.