Donnelly slams 'poor' Shoreham

Shoreham manager Sammy Donnelly. Picture by David Jeffery

Junior Barker's header seven minutes from time proved the difference as VCD ran out 1-0 winners over ten-man Mussels at Middle Road.

Shoreham - on the back of just a third league victory of the campaign at Molesey last time out - offered very little going forward in the match.

Midfielder Jack Whitmore sustained an injury in the warm-up and Shoreham boss Donnelly tore in to his team following the defeat.

He said: "I was really disappointed with the performance and my team know that. If we can't win a game, we've got to learn not to lose.

"It could easily have been another point for us but we gave a really poor goal away.

"It was always going to be a battle, which it was, some of my players weren't up for it and as a team we were poor.

"We carried too many players and that is not something you can afford to do at this level.

"Preparation is key and it all started wrong. A few players turned up late, we lost Jack (Whitmore) in the warm-up and didn't perform on the pitch."

VCD looked to have taken the lead on 12 minutes. Aymun El-Moyhalbel's cross was headed home by frontman Olugbenga Jubrill, only for an offside flag to deny him.

Mussels goalkeeper James Broadbent was called in to action a couple more times but the home side went in level at the interval.

It was a match lacking in quality and Shoreham looked on course to pick up a point.

Barker had other ideas, though, netting a winner seven minutes from time. Jeffrey Imudia's whipped cross picked out an unmarked Barker who headed home.

Frustration boiled over in closing stages for Mussels and they had centre-half Sacha Mbaye sent off. Mbaye's reckless lunge on El-Moyhalbel saw him pick up a second yellow three minutes in to second half stoppage-time.

Basement boys Shoreham - 13 points adrift at the foot of the table - travel to league leaders Lewes on Wednesday (7.45pm).

SHOREHAM: Broadbent; Gathern, Dunk, Mbaye, Bromage, Koduah; Collyer, Leitch, Myers; Roddy, Mensah. Subs: McGeachy (Gathern, 67), Follea (Leitch, 79), Dunk (Bullivant, 84), Kruszinski.