Sinclair United endured a frustrating day in their first match of the division one campaign, going down 2-1 at FC Langford.
That was only half the story however, as United were time and again denied by incorrect offside decisions as the home side scored two second half goals to leave United feeling a sense of injustice.
It was all going so well for United as Ian Timms headed them into a 20th minute lead. A Paul Rogers corner was met by Timms and his header seemed to evade Langford bodies in the box and end up in the back of the net,
United kept their work rate going following the goal, and lone striker Luke Butterworth was constantly pressurising the Langford defence into mistakes to try and increase the lead. Butterworth made the keeper pull off some saves during the first half as time and again he got through behind the back four, with Timms and Rogers also looking to test the keeper with long range efforts.
But in between these chances, the United front line was getting more and more frustrated as the linesman consistently flagged Butterworth offside when in fact most the passes played saw the striker at least a yard behind the last defender.
Matt Jeffs was largely untroubled in the United goal for most of the first half, but he was called upon to make some crucial interceptions towards the end of the half as the referee blew for some soft fouls to give Langford free kicks in dangerous positions.
Similar to the KEA game, United worked well going forward but the lack of cutting edge in the final third meant United were only 1-0 up at half time. Had they taken their chances it could, and should, have been game over.
The second half saw Langford get back into the game, and the first ten minues saw United defend well to stop the home side's attack. But United's defence was finally breached in the 60th minute when a run down the right byline saw the ball somehow creep into the back of the net. A second look however saw defender Adam Timms was agonzingly close to stopping the shot, but his slide tackle helped divert the ball past Jeffs.
It was the point in the game when United needed to stand strong, and they still had a number of chances to go back in front. Butterworth was still working hard to find a way through the defence, with Ian Timms and Ben Riley looking to find that killer ball and they very nearly equalised shortly after.
A long ball into the corner saw Butterworth outmuscle a Langford defender, and despite getting into the box his shot could only hit the side netting.
And it was a hammer blow for United when Langford were to go in front. A long ball saw a Langford player rise highest with a looping header beyond the disparing dive of Jeffs.
That didn't stop United from working hard to find that equaliser, and they thought they had found it when Butterworth again breached the Langford defence, cooly rounded the keeper and slotted home. But their celebrations were cut short when the referee ruled the striker was offside when the ball was played.
The final whistle rounded off a disappointing result for United against one of the weaker teams in the division, but they had plenty of chances to put the game beyond doubt in the first half.
The inability of the linesman to give correct decisions on offside calls will linger for most of the United players but it will surely give them motivation to put things right in their next league match.
United are on the road again next Saturday when they face Finmere, looking to bounce back with a win.
UNITED: M Jeffs, W Jones (D Wiles 60), L Jarvis, A Timms, L Whitehead, J Pritchard, B Riley, I Timms, B Washington, P Rogers (K Woodcock 45), L Butterworth
Man of the Match: W Jones
