Herne Bay boss Steve Lovell has described their cup matches as a “nightmare” after a heavy FA Trophy exit.

Bay suffered a 6-1 home defeat to Leatherhead in the competition on Saturday.

It came just seven days after they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Redhill at the First Qualifying Round stage.

With defender Harrison Pont serving a one-match suspension, player-coach Liam Friend, left-back Harry Brown and fellow defender Harrison Byford all came off before half-time with knocks against Leatherhead at Winch’s Field.

Bay got back into the tie when substitute Michael Salako made it 2-1 but four-goal Trevan Robinson ended any hopes of a home comeback.

“We had a few injuries during the game so we lost three players in the first half,” said Lovell, whose side have played four out of seven games so far in cup competitions.

“So we had to mix the team up and put players into positions that they don’t normally play.

“Getting back into the game at 2-1, it was disappointing how we conceded straight after. A needless free-kick was given away and their player has a free header in the box.

“Then, at 3-1, we’re trying to chase it, leave holes at the back and they’re a very good side. Against a good side, you’re going to struggle if you give them the opportunities that they had.

“It’s a bit of a step back for us, I’d say, but that’s sort of what these cup games are for us.

“We can get working on things and sort it before the league gets started again because these cups are a nightmare, really. I think they get in the way of things.

“It’s good if you can get through them but, if you don’t, you get your injuries - which we have now - and we’ve just got to get back on track.

“No one likes losing 6-1 at home. But, at 2-1, we were back in it.

“But there’s things me and Mark [Lovell, his assistant] have got to address. We know that.

“We’ve got to sort ourselves out, see what the best formation is and we’re still trying to work that out with the best players that we’ve got.

“That’s what we’ll do.”

Keeper Harry Brooks was given a start - but endured a busy afternoon.

Lovell said: “I wanted to give Harry a game. He’s been coming to training.

“It’s unfortunate that he’s let six in but none of them were his fault.

“I was just giving him a game to see what he’s about. We’ll do that again next week with the cup game [at Sheppey].”

Forward Salako did at least make a positive impact on his Bay debut, though.

Lovell stated: “He came off the bench and scored, and he did okay. Obviously, he needs to get match fitness but he will.”

There’s plenty for Welshman Lovell and his Bay side to work on in the meantime ahead of their Second Round Velocity Cup clash at rivals Sheppey on Tuesday after a free weekend.

He said: “It’s important now that we have the next two training sessions where we’ll work on the system I think we should be playing.

“Then, we’ll put that into the game against Sheppey. I take every game seriously and I want to win every game but, sometimes, circumstances happen and it throws it off a little bit - which happened on Saturday.

“When you haven’t got a big squad, you’re then asking youngsters to go in and do things they’re not quite ready to do. It’s about us implementing a way of playing in the next three or four months, working at it.

“Against Sheppey on Tuesday, we’ll put it into practice and, hopefully, we’ll get the performance out of the boys that we’ve been working on.”

Bay also have a Kent Senior Cup fixture at Sevenoaks before the end of the month but it’s league matches which are Lovell’s primary focus now, with his team having earned four points from the three league matches played so far.

He said: “The league is our bread and butter. That’s where I’ll judge where we are in the next month or so.

“I want to play league games now and get a couple under our belts. We have Horndean on September 23 and then we’re at home to Phoenix on September 30.

“So, by the end of September, we’ll only have played five league games. The rest have all been cup games.

“By the middle of October, I think we’ll have played seven or eight league games and we’ll see where we are and what we need.

“I’m looking all the time to improve the squad.

“If players come up and are available, and they’ll improve the squad, then we’ll do something about it.”