Missed chances cost YM

YM were barely able to string more than five passes together during a wretched first period, and despite still creating one or two adequate scoring opportunities, were punished by a bustling Shoreham outfit.

Shoreham skipper Dan Jordan put the visitors ahead after just seven minutes, firing home unmarked at the far post, as a motionless YM defence were caught ball watching.

YM striker Elliott Romain then fired a rushed effort over the crossbar after some positive work from Martin Smith, before the latter wasted a glorious opportunity of his own, firing wide of the far post when clean through.

With the hosts’ forwards miss-firing at one end, YM’s defence fared little better at the other.

The warning signs appeared ten minutes before the break when the Musselmen’s Jono Melia raced down the right and crossed for Owen Callaghan, whose tame effort was kept out by the legs of returning YM goalkeeper Paul Williams.

And two minutes later Shoreham got their second, as centre back Matt Crane first fluffed his lines, before Russell Hartt was caught lingering on the ball, allowing Gareth Green to nip in and lob a stranded Williams just before half time.

YM carved out a great chance to get back into the game when, just two minutes after the restart Romain was sent clean through but he could only fire straight at on-rushing keeper James Shaw.

Billy Ramsey fired just wide from range before Liam Hunter poked a tame shot straight at the keeper from three yards, and YM’s day got worse when they lost Dean Cox to a nasty injury. A flurry of late YM chances also went to waste, Brad Curtis and Hunter failing to hit the target before a poor afternoon for the hosts was summed up when Ashley Dugdale blasted a late penalty over the crossbar.

YM manager Peter Buckland said: “Football is often a game of two halves. In the first half today we really were quite poor, and we got what we deserved.

“I am very disappointed to have lost at home to a team that are lower than us in the league, but I think that we deserved something out of the game from the second half performance.”

YM (4-4-2): Williams, Sullivan (Evans 74), Hartt, Crane, O’Carroll, Ramsey, Dugdale, Hunter, Cox (Curtis 56), Smith, Romain.