Ashford just couldn’t stop the swing in momentum after losing a two-goal advantage against runaway league leaders Ramsgate.

That was the view of assistant manager Tommy Osborne following the Nuts & Bolts’ 3-2 defeat at Homelands on Tuesday.

The night started so well as goals from Connor Dymond and Vance Bola put Ashford in charge.

But calf injuries for key men Bola and Harvey Brand hit their rhythm and there was a further blow when Joe Taylor pulled a goal back from the penalty spot with the final kick of the first half.

Alfie Paxman levelled midway through the second half and Taylor scored again four minutes later while Ashford finished a man down after Dymond was sent off.

It was a third successive defeat for the Nuts & Bolts, who went down 1-0 at Littlehampton on Saturday, and leaves them 10th in Isthmian South East.

“In the first half, the lads were brilliant at doing what we asked and how we set out to play,” said Osborne.

“We limited Ramsgate to very few attacking opportunities, scored a couple of goals ourselves and looked a threat when we went forward.

“Without making excuses, because that’s easy to do, right on the stroke of half-time we had the two lads go down with calf injuries at the same time. It was quite bizarre.

“With the two injuries and the penalty, that was a real bitter blow and a big turning point.

“You can never say you know what would go on if that didn’t happen but with us having to make two substitutions at the same time, it leaves you with one sub when you want to bring on fresh legs or maybe change things.

“Give Ramsgate their due, they put the pressure on and we just couldn’t stop that swing of momentum.

“They’re an experienced side and it was difficult for us to stop that swing.”

Ashford, who are still only five points off the play-off places, host East Grinstead on Saturday (3pm) and visit Horndean on Tuesday (7.45pm).

They can take encouragement from the first half against Ramsgate, who are 14 points clear at the top, but must learn from what went wrong.

Osborne said: “There’s definitely positives we can take from the first-half display, and that’s what we’ll do.

“But, at the same time, we have got to address why we struggled to stop that swing in momentum, which is hard in football at times.

“There’s always things you’ve got to look at and see where improvements can be made.

“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.

“We’ve got to stick together as a group and go into Saturday’s game confident, with the belief we can get three points.”

Ashford handed a debut to former Chelsea youngster Bradley Ryan following his arrival from Beckenham.

He couldn’t mark his 21st birthday with a win but showed his quality at times.

Osborne said: “We’ve thrown him straight in and I thought in the first half half he was very lively.

“Second half, with us chasing the game and down to 10 men, he couldn’t influence it as much as he would have liked.

“But he’s neat and tidy, good on the ball and hopefully he’ll come in and add something to us.”

Becky Wyatt scored a hat-trick in Ashford United Ladies’ 4-1 win against Sutton on Sunday.

Ella Roper, with her first Nuts & Bolts goal, also struck as the hosts chalked up their fourth league victory of the season.

Ashford, who are without a game this weekend, sit eighth in the London & South East Regional Premier Division.