Canvey soccer boss Jeff King refused to be downbeat after seeing his side lose their first Nationwide Conference match to a Barnet side who took over at the top of the table with their 1-0 Park Lane success.

He said: "We've taken on and matched a side who are a former Football League outfit who made the play-offs last season.

"They've got the result in the end to stay unbeaten and take over at the top, but it could have gone either way.

"I'm proud of the way my players have performed in the Conference so far. Yes, we're going to make mistakes and it's still a learning process for everyone, including myself.

"Perhaps I made a mistake today in naming an un-changed side from the one that won so magnificently in Exeter on Saturday.

"We do have injuries, but even allowing for that it was asking too much in one or two cases for players to recover from such a long trip and that game and come out and give another top-level performance less than 48 hours later."

Published Tuesday August 31, 2004

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