FC CLACTON boss David Coyle was left mystified by his side’s 11-3 defeat at Godmanchester Rovers.

The Seasiders boss had warned that his team were up against what he considers the best all-round squad in the Thurlow Nunn League.

And a glut of goals during a crazy afternoon left them licking their wounds for the second Saturday in a row, having previously suffered a 6-0 hammering at Hadleigh United.

However, while bitterly disappointed by the result, Coyle felt his side were “anything but awful”.

Matt Waters scored twice and Lee Peacock once for Clacton, who also handed a debut to new Heybridge Swifts loanee Ryan Lowton.

They found themselves up against it from the start, conceding three goals in the first 14 minutes.

By half-time it was 6-1 and then, in a catastrophic start to the second half, it quickly became 10-1.

“We scored three goals and hit the woodwork against a top team – only to end up losing by eight,” said Coyle.

“While clearly well beaten, we were anything but awful.

“It makes no sense and, performance-wise, we played worse against Thetford and ended up winning 4-1.”

The match had gone ahead after the pitch passed a 10.15am inspection and Clacton had to play young goalkeeper Jordan Giddings, as illness ruled out regular number one Liam Daniels.