Joe Dowley hopes his Sittingbourne players will bounce back after "hitting rock bottom" against Burgess Hill Town on Tuesday.

The Brickies went down 3-0 to a side that began the day in the Ryman League, Division 1 South drop-zone and saw three men sent-off on a night on which Dowley said he "felt let down by the players."

Bourne fell to their fourth straight defeat, despite it being goalless at the break but the Hillians went 1-0 up from a free-kick after Dan Palfrey’s dismissal for a second yellow card.

A solo goal made it 2-0 before Anthony Hogg received a straight red for the visitors for a hard challenge and after the third goal, Ryan Golding was the final dismissal for a second yellow card.

Dowley (pictured) said: "It was frustrating. In the second half it was like watching school kids. We looked the better side until Palfrey got sent-off. He was a bit naive but he’s young and will learn from it.

"I thought Hogg’s straight red was a bit harsh but Golding’s was concerning. A few of the lads apologised after the game but it was not an enjoyable night.

"I’ll see what I can do about getting players in but I can’t just get rid of half a team. We’ll talk it through at training and hopefully that will be our lowest point."

He added: "We have Chipstead on Saturday which is a winnable game. We have lost four on the spin but we’ve only lost two league games so the run looks worse than it feels at the moment."