Camp felt Loxwood's efforts deserved more than defeat at Peacehaven

Loxwood assistant manager Matt Camp felt the Magpies' performance at Peacehaven deserved more than a 3-1 defeat.
Loxwood v Arundel FC. 01-04-17. Pic Steve Robards  SR1706347 SUS-170304-113809001Loxwood v Arundel FC. 01-04-17. Pic Steve Robards  SR1706347 SUS-170304-113809001
Loxwood v Arundel FC. 01-04-17. Pic Steve Robards SR1706347 SUS-170304-113809001

After a run of five consecutive wins, Loxwood had no shortage of confidence ahead of the game, and took the lead after just nine minutes.

Naim Rouane won possession high up the pitch before putting in Ollie Moore to fire across the keeper, with the ball going in via a deflection.

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Peacehaven, who were without a win in four league games, found an equaliser after a recycled corner. A high ball was played in and Ellis Cowd headed across goal for Jack Phillips to volley in.

Haven took the lead ten minutes after the break from the penalty spot, after Eddie French brought down Jake Legrange with a recovery challenge. Cam Wiltshire stepped up and sent keeper Sam Smith the wrong way.

With the away side committing men forward, Haven ruthlessly exploited gaps in the Loxwood defence, and substitute Felipe Lira crossed for Josh Marshall to slam home to secure all three points.

However, before the decisive third goal, Loxwood believed they had the ball behind the line to make it 2-2, but the appeals were waved away, much to the frustration of Camp.

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He said: “Unfortunately we came away from the game feeling a bit aggrieved at a decision towards the end of the game.

“Pretty much everyone in the ground knows the ball was about two yards over the line, from an Eddie French header, except the assistant.

“We’ve had words supporting of that fact from the opposition but that doesn’t change anything.

“It’s frustrating because we didn’t get what our overall play deserved.”

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“A draw would have been fair. I think the game was played in three stages. We had the better of the first 30 minutes, but they had the better of the 15 minutes before and after half-time no doubt about that.

“They are a good footballing side to be fair to them and we allowed them to get into the final third too easily.

“It’s fair to say we dominated in the final third of the game but were caught with the sucker punch as we were pushing for the equaliser at the very end.

“It’s not the end of the world and the question is how can we bounce back from that.

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“It could have easily gone either way and If we’re pushing a side of that calibre so close, there’s no reason why we can’t bounce back and find ourselves up in a similar area at the end of the season as well.”

Loxwood face Eastbourne United on Saturday and Camp said they would not take the threats posed lightly, but he expects three points.

He added: “Regardless of who’s in the squad, they’ve got a manager who keeps them very well-organised and they will be a test.

“It will be tough, but if we’re up to our standards we should expect three points.”

Loxwood: Smith, Holvey (Andrade 72), Warren, French, Mobsby, Rouane, Bachelor (Jardim 82), Napper, Wright, Moore, Wood. Unused: ​Camp, Dominique, Pritchard.