DESPITE goals from Toby Holmes and Ben Watson either side of the interval at Hitchin, the afternoon proved far from elementary for Dorchester Town.

They fell to a 3-2 defeat against the Canaries, and not for the first time this season, county town boss Mark Jermyn was left to ponder his side’s set-piece struggles.

Reflecting on a defeat that pushes the Avenue outfit out of the Evo- Stik Southern Premier Division top 10, Jermyn said: “We always knew it would be a tough game and our general play was good except for our set-pieces.

“It’s really frustrating that we come unstuck so often through set-pieces.

“Our build-up play is good but we are struggling to get the ball in the net and we’re struggling to keep the ball out of our own net.”

He added: “I thought both new players did well. Gary Bowles is a very good player and the young lad Henry Lander that we got in has done extremely well.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the campaign, Jermyn said: “We’re getting to a point in the season when results really matter and I don’t want us to be a team that doesn’t have anything to play for.

“We’ve still got 11 games to go and all the work is there to do.”

With Jermyn’s side now seven points off a play-off place, they will be looking to bounce back quickly when they host bottom club Bideford tomorrow (7.45pm).