SHAFTESBURY TOWN 7 BALTI SPORTS 1

MARCO Nott said he could not be too despondent after his Balti Sports side suffered a 7-1 defeat at title contenders Shaftesbury Town.

Balti boss Nott, whose men actually took the lead through Ricky Lane, was adamant that the scoreline flattered the hosts.

Lee Gale and Szymon Matuszewski both netted braces for Shaftesbury, with Matthew Chant, Sean Colohan and Luke Stone also scoring.

Balti’s afternoon got off to a nightmare start when full-back Jason Pearce pulled his hamstring and just 10 minutes in, forcing Nott to bring on Ross Walker, who had come back into the squad after several months out of action.

Commenting on the match, Nott told Echosport: “We actually went 1-0 up after about 15 minutes with a good goal through Ricky Lane, but it was 1-1 within a couple of minutes and Shaftesbury caused us a lot of problems from then on.

“Charlie May and Ricky also caused them problems but Shaftesbury scored two more within 10 minutes of each other before half-time to make it 3-1.

“We made a mistake for their fourth and we had said at the break that the first goal after half-time was always going to be key.

“We gave away the ball in a bad area and they counter-attacked to make it 4-1.

“They scored a few more after that but my lads stuck at it and didn’t throw in the towel at all.

“They dug in and worked hard and 3-1 would probably have been a fairer reflection of the game.”

He added: “The scoreline did flatter them, even their manager said that.

“It was just one of those days where every error we made was punished and they were pretty ruthless up front.

“They probably had eight chances and scored with seven of them.”

Despite conceding seven, Nott was full of praise for Walker and fellow defender Phil Anderson.

“Phil was outstanding for us at centre-back and put his body on the line a few times,” he said. “He came away a bit battered and bruised but did have a good game.”

Balti go to Swanage Town & Herston this Saturday having dropped a place to fourth in the Dorset Premier League following last weekend’s loss.

Balti: A Nott, Nichols, Pearce (Walker 10), Anderson, Burton, Devaney, Litherland, Kenderdine, Lock, May, Lane. Sub not used: M Nott