Manager Warren Feeney has spoken of his disappointment in the defending as Welling United lost to Worthing on Saturday.

On a scorching day, newly promoted Worthing defeated Welling United to claim their first ever victory in the National League South.

Warren Feeney has put together a brand new squad and after ten players were awarded a first team debut in their previous game, five more were given their first start against Worthing.

He explained. “Just a wee bit of fresh legs. I wasn’t happy with last week. I’m just thinking in what way we can affect the game and try and hurt Worthing.”

Unfortunately, the changes didn’t have the desired outcome. He continued “I said to them, it’s unacceptable the way we defended today to be totally honest. I’m not hiding. I’m not one to beat about the bush. You can’t concede four goals at home and score two, hit the crossbar twice and lose the game. It was a great goal by Hydie, (Tyrique Hyde). We got back in the game, but we can’t concede goals like we conceded goals today.”

He was disappointed with all the goals conceded and said of the third “I’ll have to look at it again. I don’t know if he’s headed it against his chest or what the boys were saying but we’ve got to defend it better. All the goals today should have been defended better and I’m not happy at all with the way we went about them.

“They’re a good side but I think at times we showed them too much respect. Whenever we got about them, we got joy. We hit the crossbar twice today and it just wasn’t enough today, at times putting pressure onto the final balls in the box. It wasn’t great.”

Feeney changed the shape of the team during the game but said “It doesn’t matter what formations you play. If you look at the goals we’ve conceded today, they weren’t based on formations, they were from individual and collective errors and that was the disappointing part for me.”

Having been three-one down Ade Azeez pulled one back and they were only one behind at the break. He said “I told them. I said that the next goal’s going to be crucial. I thought we started the second half very well but again we got done by a sucker punch and it was a terrible mistake and I told them that.

“Defenders for me have got to defend. Defending’s a dying breed and you’ve got to clear your lines. Unfortunately, he never cleared his lines and we got punished for it.”

It’s still very early in the season and Feeney isn’t overly concerned. “At the end of the day, we’re two games into the season and it’s still very, very early days with nineteen new players.” He said “I thought that we’ve got to give the subs a chance to try and change the game and we are still gelling together.

“I’m disappointed with the way that we conceded the goals but I’m not going to lose sleep over it because it’s very, very early days into the season for where we are, and we’ve just got to stick together and bounce back.”

Speaking about the difference between the two sides, he said “I think that they’ve got eleven or twelve players from last season, still, and they’re a good side. We want to play the right way, but I think that in this league, if you try and get physical, you can get joy but I’m just looking at the goals we conceded today, and they were unacceptable to me.

“All the play you have, there were errors for me, running off the blind side at set play, from a throw in, the first one. It’s just the little things. We’ve got to be a bit more streetwise. The boys do it at training but that’s the difference when you go out onto the pitch, and it counts. The good thing about us at the minute is that we look as if we’re going to score goals which is the big thing. The time we had last year getting through the ten games was difficult, but we look as if we’re going to score goals, but we’ve got to make sure that we tighten that defence line up and we’ve got to start (against Cheshunt) on Tuesday and do that.”

Picture supplied by Dave Budden.