Lewes's strikers have been told to put a bad day at the office behind them after missing a hatful of chances in a frustrating defeat.

The Rookettes went down 1-0 at West Ham United on Sunday despite dominating against their high-profile opponents for the second time in the space of seven days.

Late strikes from Natasha Wells and Julia Louis-Joseph had rescued a 2-2 draw at the Dripping Pan the previous weekend but they were unable to repeat the feat as they suffered their first shut-out for five games.

Boss John Donoghue said: “I said to the players afterwards it was almost impossible to control the game and attack at will like we did but end up losing.

“We’d scored 11 goals in the previous four games but we probably created more chances on Sunday than in at least two of those put together.

“It is disappointing but the positive thing is that we played well. Sometimes you have just got to draw a line under it and move on to the next game.”

Donoghue has warned his players to expect a bruising encounter when they attempt to bounce back from a first defeat in five games at C&K Basildon on Sunday.

“They were promoted last season and have certainly come into the division with all guns blazing,” added Donoghue. “They’ve had quite a few bookings and sendings off so are obviously a combative team so we will need to be ready for that.”