Greens lose out to hosts Ashby
Sleaford Town fell to their third defeat on the bounce as they were beaten 2-0 at Ashby Ivanhoe on Saturday.
A first half penalty and a near post knock-in did the damage, as the result left Sleaford still nine points above the relegation zone.
Josh Parker went close early on for Sleaford but Ashby soon went in front when goalkeeper Harrison Leech caught an attacker as he came out for the ball and was booked, but from the penalty, Sam Grouse saw his effort hit the crossbar.
But in going for the rebound, he collided with Sam Greenwood and another penalty was awarded, Grouse this time making no mistake.
Leech made several fine saves to keep Ashby at bay, while sub Andy Whalen nearly levelled for Sleaford, before the win was sealed for the hosts when Will Robson tapped in from close range.
Speaking to the club’s media after the game, Sleaford boss Matt Evans said: “Other than the first ten minutes of the second-half when we were really poor, there were some good bits of play in there and we’re happy that some of the things we’re working on in training are starting to come out.
"But ultimately we’re not efficient enough in the final third so it’s something we’ll look at on the training pitch. There were moments there where we could have scored and made our lives a lot easier but we haven’t done it – and it’s not just the forwards, it’s the whole team from set pieces and things like that too.
"It was a heavy pitch which tires legs out so I was happy we had young lads who could come on and affect the game, but it came down to both goalmouths and they were better than we were."
Next up for Sleaford is a trip to Newark Town on Saturday, set for a 3pm kick off.
Evans added: “We’re looking forward to that one and playing on the 3G pitch and again we’ll be up against some familiar faces who have played for Sleaford before so it’ll give it a good atmosphere and a bit of a derby feel on a good surface.”