Huntingdon Town manager Jimmy Brattan brushed off their heaviest defeat of the season.

They were thumped 6-0 at Thrapston Town last Saturday when suffering a third successive United Counties League Division One reverse.

Boss Brattan missed the match due to work commitments in Scotland. Player/assistant manager Chris Jones took charge of a depleted Town side without a number of important players.

Among those missing was Jones himself and goalkeeper Quincy Shorunmi, who was forced to miss the game due to a family bereavement.

His deputy Ross Prior was away so outfield player Callum Walter donned the gloves for a contest in which Town competed well for an hour before succumbing to their hosts.

A miserable day was made worse by the dismissal of defender Odie Wason for conceding the first of two late penalties for Thrapston.

Brattan said: “Quincy had to pull out in the early hours of Saturday morning and all of our thoughts are with him.

“We tried without any success to bring in another keeper despite spending a lot of time on the phone, but Callum deserves total respect for going in goal.

“It is always a struggle for a team without four-or-five key players. The message I’ve had from Chris is that our concentration levels weren’t where they needed to be either.”

Huntingdon restricted their hosts to one goal in the opening period before Antonio Dello Russo was denied a leveller early in the second period.

But Town were forced into a more attacking formation following the loss of full-back Josh Watson to a back problem and Thrapston then took control.

Huntingdon return to home turf this Saturday when they entertain Buckingham at Jubilee Park.

The original clash between the sides back in August was abandoned after Town man Chris Down suffered a heart scare. Huntingdon trailed 2-0 at the time.

Brattan added: “Buckingham are a very useful side. They had plenty of quality and physicality on that day.

“We know we’re in for another tough game, but our target of a top-seven finish is still within reach and everyone is determined to kick on.

“I’m very confident the current run is only a blip. We were very unlucky to lose to both Lutterworth Town and Blackstones, and we won’t dwell on the Thrapston result.”