HUNTINGDON Town manager Al Lenihan refused to criticise his players after his side lost 1-0 at home to Rushden and Higham.

UCL Division One

Huntingdon Town 0-1 Rushden & Higham

HUNTINGDON Town manager Al Lenihan refused to criticise his players after his side lost 1-0 at home to Rushden and Higham.

Town went down to a second-half strike despite having a hatful of chances and the majority of possession.

“We just didn’t have the luck on our side on the day. We absolutely battered them, and I know it’s an old clich� but if it had been a boxing match the referee would have stopped the game at half-time.

“It’s hard to take as a manager, as we were the better side throughout the game and the result was completely undeserved. We just didn’t take our chances.

“To be fair to the opposition they worked extremely hard and were difficult to break down – even throwing in a few last ditch tackles when necessary.”

A Rushden handball on the goalline, missed by the referee and his assistants, added to the sense of injustice. However, despite having to endure a frustrating first game of the season, Lenihan remained upbeat.

“It was a deliberate handball which should have given us a penalty and put them down to 10 men.

However, in all fairness to the officials they were very honest about what happened. The referee said he couldn’t see what happened through all the bodies, while the linesman, despite having a clear view of the incident must have taken his eyes off the game for a split second.”

Lenihan said that despite the defeat he would be sticking with the same team ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Eynesbury Rovers.

“It’s my job to keep all the players happy, but I’m not going to change anything and we will go into next weekend’s game with the same squad of 16,” he said. “If we play the same way as we did against Rushden & Higham there should be no reason for us not to get a result.”