On Tuesday night, Sittingbourne host near neighbours Sheppey United under the lights at the Staxson Stadium with both sides looking to respond to weekend defeats.

But for home boss Reece Prestedge it was the first reversal that his side suffered at the weekend in the sixteen since the manager arrived in the role. “Tuesday cannot come round quick enough for us especially after our defeat on Saturday,” he told us. “We have to get back to it, and we will be looking for a reaction from the weekend!”

Play-off rivals AFC Croydon Athletic beat the Brickies 3-1 at the weekend, and we found the Sittingbourne boss in reflective mood; “I think Saturday was an even game where they took their chances when they needed to and we didn’t!” Prestedge explained.

“We went in at half time probably slightly happier of the two teams – we ended the half stronger after they certainly started the game better than we did, but I do think that we turned it around. When you go in at the break half time on top at 1-1, you always wish for another five minutes where you might get one or two chances to go in possibly ahead.”

“When you’re on top like that in games you really do need to go ahead, but I think we started sloppy in the second half as we did in the first half, and they went ahead in that period. Normally when a shot comes from thirty yards out you can deal with it, but it took a massive deflection sending it away Jamie the other way. That certainly was a sucker punch and against a team with a lot of threats all over the park… for the neutral I’m sure it was a tough game that could have gone either way and it just wasn’t to be our day! They took their chances when they came and we didn’t!”

“We always knew that we would lose a game eventually and it was the first taste of defeat that we have had in sixteen games! Of course, we would have liked to have gone to the end of the season unbeaten but by law of averages at best that would have been a tough, very tough ask. Now we need to react to it – the group needs to pull together, they are a good group with good togetherness, and I am sure the boys will be up for Tuesday.”

“We know the importance to the fans of beating your nearest rivals, but we know that we have to play the game rather than the occasion! We have to manage games the way that we have managed the previous games and hopefully that will see us come out on top.”

“We have to take each game as it comes now – we have to make sure that we secure ourselves that play-off place as this is now the business end of the season. We have to start again and do more in these last ten games than we have in the previous thirty-odd games because there is still so much to fight for!”