COACH Luke Sellers admitted Lechlade let a winning position slip through their fingers as they went down by 16 runs when they entertained Goatacre.

Chasing 231 for victory at the Manor Ground, Lechlade looked well on course as Brad Dial (55) and Benny Ellis (41) guided them to 122-2.

However, Joe Breet’s men were not able to convert that commanding position into a successful chase as the runs dried up at the death and by the time the 50th over was complete they were still some way short on 214-7.

Rob Murphy was the pick of the Goats’ attack as he claimed 3-46.

The defeat sees Lechlade slip to third from bottom in the table and they are now just 12 points above the drop zone.

Coach Sellers said: “It was a funny game. For two-thirds of it, or maybe even three-quarters, we thought we were in a position to win it but it’s about small margins. In our reply we were 120-2, which should have been a winning position, but lots of people in the middle order got in and then got out.

“In the last six or seven overs we couldn’t find that extra gear, that’s something we need to look at.

“It was very frustrating as I think we only scored one boundary in that time. There just wasn’t that acceleration that they had shown in their innings.”

Lechlade had earlier made a strong start after winning the toss and electing to field, with good spells from skipper Breet (4-55), Sellers (2-31) and Freddie Martin (2-47) restricting them to 91-5.

However, Goatacre opener Jack Haines (86) proved a thorn in Lechlade’s side before some strong late hitting, particularly from Toby Horton (45) saw the visitors to 230 all out, a score which had looked highly unlikely just a few hours earlier.

Sellers said: “We gave them too many runs, we had them at about 170-7 but the last three wickets put on 60 runs, which is more than they should have done.

“It was a game we should have won but there were still lots of positives that we can look to build on. We have conceded too many extras in games this season, but that really wasn’t the case against Goatacre, so that is encouraging.”