Badshot Lea 1, Ascot United 3

YOU don’t always get what you deserve in football – and that was certainly the case for Badshot Lea on Tuesday night.

Facing league leaders Ascot United for the third time this season, with the two sides having already squared up twice in two compelling battles in the FA Cup this season, Lea really couldn’t have done too much more in their bid to move into the top six and cut the gap on their Berkshire visitors.

That they only had a consolation goal in stoppage time from Brandon Lewington to show for their determined effort on a chilly night at Westfield Lane seems extraordinary given the scare they gave the table toppers, especially in the first half.

And had Met Police loanee Tom Cursons been awarded a penalty after appearing to be felled in the box midway through the first half, it could have been a very different story.

But the fact that Lea deserved to take something out of the game will be of scant consolation to the management duo of Gavin Smith and Dave Ford, who will have been keen to see Lea put an end to a relatively poor recent run of form at home which included a 3-0 defeat at home to Balham in the pouring rain on Saturday.

Against Balham, Lea were punished almost on the stroke of half-time and then again within 60 seconds of the restart.

On Tuesday night, against an Ascot side featuring former Baggies centre half Liam Flanighan, Lea went in at the break goalless but will rue not finding the net while on top for long periods.

During that first period in particular, Lea were lively and full of running, snapping into tackles, first to loose balls and giving United precious little time to dwell on the ball, let alone create chances which could hurt them.

Cursons and pacy winger Danilo Cadete were a constant threat, with the latter roasting the Ascot full backs time and again while the visitors struggled to lay a glove on the wily striker. Full backs Liam Robinson and Josh Pound got forward at every opportunity while the combative Ashley Lloyd snarled around the midfield to keep Ascot on the back foot.

But for all of Lea’s hard work, they were undone by a set-piece on 67 minutes as Ian Davies glanced home a free kick from Jonny Denton to give Ascot a lead they would never relinquish.

Minutes earlier, Ascot had sprung the offside trap and Lea goalkeeper Kallum Lunn had to spread himself to block Davies’ shot while at the other end Lewington hit a rasping right-footed shot against the post.

And two minutes after Ascot took the lead, Lewington found himself in an almost identical position after being set up by a superb driving run by Lloyd, but this time the Lea forward hit it narrowly wide.

Lea continued to push in search of an equaliser, zipping the ball around the pitch with zeal, but Ascot made them pay when Harry Laflin twice converted from the penalty spot inside the last ten minutes – firstly when that man Davies was needlessly hauled down by Lunn close to the byline before Kassim Luqman ended up on the floor after a coming together with Darren Blake.

Badshot Lea: Lunn, Pound, Roberts (Matthews 70), Hedley, New, Suckling (Smith 86), Cadete, Lloyd, Cursons, Lewington, Blake. Sub (not used): Carter.

*On Saturday, Lea are away to Christchurch in the second round of the FA Vase (kick off 3pm).