BRIGHTLINGSEA Regent assistant boss Pip Boyland admitted his side paid a heavy price for their sluggish start in Tuesday’s pre-season friendly defeat against FC Clacton.

George Keys scored both R's goals but they were always on the back foot, being 2-0 and 3-1 down.

Boyland praised the visitors but said his players need to learn a valuable lesson, otherwise they will be severely punished if they make the same mistakes in Bostik League matches.

“Clacton were up for it,” he said.

“They’ve improved a lot and have some good players who move the ball well.

“They started well and were quick out of the blocks.

“They put us on the back foot and I don’t think our players were expecting it to be like that.

“We gave them an inch and they took a mile.

“Some of our less-experienced boys looked a little nervous and afraid when they put us under pressure, like we didn’t really want the ball, and that’s what cost us the game – the first half.

“Clacton totally deserved their lead and it could have been three or four.”

Boyland pulled no punches but was also quick to keep things in perspective, admitting it was a night of experimentation.

“We’ve got a few news faces at the club and they have great potential,” he said.

“We also had a few key players out and were trying different players in different positions.

“That’s what pre-season is for.

“We wanted to give players an opportunity to get minutes under their belts but it’s no excuse.

“The second half was certainly more positive from our point of view – not great but better - and we started to grow into the game.

“When you make a bad start, it’s hard to come back but if we’d started how we finished, it would have been a different story.”