Lydd Town manager Mickey Doyle says his side weren’t at the races in their 1-0 loss at Bridon Ropes on Saturday.

The Lydders had Craig Calvert sent off in the second half after two bookings and conceded the only goal when Jordan Samuels struck three minutes from time.

It was a first defeat in six games for Town, who remain third in Southern Counties East Division 1.

“We just weren’t at the races at all,” said Doyle.

“We started one way because of how we thought they would set up but they changed their game plan for us, so we had to change during the game.

“We had a few players out but we just didn’t get our game doing. There was hardly any running.

“Sometimes you get an inkling before a game and you try and fire them up but we didn’t have any intensity.

“We’ve got to take responsibility as a group. I don’t know, maybe we thought we’d stroll it.

“They didn’t really threaten us, either. The goal’s come from a long ball over the top and their player’s won the foot race.

“The good thing was the teams around us slipped up as well, so we haven’t lost any ground in the play-offs.”

Lydd have a five-point cushion over the chasing pack outside the top five.

They have eight games remaining, starting with a trip to eighth-placed Tooting Bec on Saturday (3pm).

“They’re on the up a little bit at the moment,” said Doyle.

“We’ve got to take them seriously - they’re always a danger at their place.”

“We’ve got to be at it and fully focused on the run-in. There’s going to be twists and turns.

“We’ve got a busy couple of months to make sure we get in those play-offs.”