Manager Mickey Doyle says there are no excuses after league leaders Lydd were thrashed 8-0 at home on Saturday.

The Lydders remain top of Southern Counties East Division 1, despite the heavy defeat by promotion rivals Snodland.

A nightmare afternoon at the Lindsey Field saw the hosts trail 5-0 at half-time and things didn’t get much better after the break.

“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” said Doyle. “We made lots of mistakes, it was one of those days.

“There are no excuses at our end, we weren’t good enough. All the goals were avoidable, we’ve got to be better.

“Some of the mistakes we made, you couldn’t write it. We misplaced passes, didn’t control the ball properly, and one thing led to another.

“No one makes mistakes on purpose but a good side like Snodland will punish you. It’s a wake-up call for us.”

Lydd, two points clear of Larkfield at the summit, have a weekend off to clear their heads.

They have big games coming up, too, visiting Hollands & Blair in the Kent Senior Trophy on Tuesday, followed by an FA Vase First-Round tie at home to Holyport next Saturday.

“One bad performance doesn’t make us a bad side,” said Doyle.

“I said to the players the following day, if someone had told me at the start of the season you’re going to be top in mid-October and through to the First Round of the FA Vase, but you’re going to suffer an 8-0 loss, I’d have taken it.

“I’m pleased to have a little break from the league to recharge our batteries and then it’s all about the reaction.

“We need to dust ourselves down and hope no one likes taking on a wounded animal.

“Losing a game like that doesn’t make us a bad side, it only makes us hungrier.

“We’re all hurting, me more than most, and so we should be.

“But we need to be sensible about it, there’s no need to hit the panic button.

“Nothing’s gone wrong, it’s one game, it can happen.

“Look at Liverpool. They let in seven at Aston Villa a couple of years ago and they’ve achieved great things.

“Why can’t we achieve great things?

“We aren’t going to change our plans because of one result.”