Badshot Lea first team coach Victor Ocansey saw plenty of positives after his side slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat at home to Horndean in the Isthmian League South Central Division.

Goals from Zack Willett and Kelvin Robinson gave the Deans the three points at Westfield Lane, with Harvey Harry on target for the Baggies.

“It's tough to take,” said Ocansey. “I felt we were very good from the start. Two errors from individuals has cost us two goals, but going forward we looked a threat. We implemented the gameplan. For us to be in it at 1-1 and then lose the game is disappointing, but we take the positives and we will definitely move on from it.

“We lost 80 per cent of the boys from last season. The new boys are learning the habits of what we want to see. It's coming along nicely. As much as we all wanted it to be ready by the first game of the season, with how we work in terms of recruitment and getting players in they're all young so they need time to improve. We'll definitely push on and definitely improve.

“I still personally believe we're in a better place this year than we were at this time last year. We've got a lot of hungry players who all want to push on. We’ve got players who have come out of academies and want to get back into full-time football. The drive and the culture they have is very different to what we had last year. They are quick learners. They're improving quickly and every game is a good experience for them.”

The Baggies were 1-0 down at half-time but equalised early in the second half, and Ocansey was pleased with his side’s second-half efforts.

“The message at half-time was to play with a bit more pride,” said Ocansey. “A few of the boys were a shadow of themselves. We managed to get ourselves back in it and it's a shame we couldn't get a goal towards the end, but I'm proud of the performance. I'm proud of the habits we're showing. We just fell a little bit short.”