FAIRFORD Town manager Gareth Davies was left lost for words as his side conceded a last-minute winner in a seven-goal thriller against Hook Norton.

The Cinder Lane outfit, who took the lead through Alex Rudd, found themselves 3-1 down before strikes from Tom Ballard and Matt Boucher levelled matters.

However, with just 50 seconds left on the clock, Fairford allowed their Oxfordshire visitors to snatch all three points.

“I just don’t know what to say,” Davies said. “We had done so well to get back to 3-3 and then we concede such a sloppy goal.

“We can’t keep doing this – one day they will learn.”

But the Fairford boss was left more than a little upset than the goal that brought Hook Norton back into the game.

“The linesman said that Dan Thompson was more than a foot behind the line when he cleared the ball,” Davies said.

“I don’t know how that could be, he was at best level if not in front of the line.

“I just couldn’t let that decision go without saying something – I remained as polite as I could – it was incredibly frustrating.

“Our secretary Bill (Beach) is the quietest man in the world and he was fuming.”

The defeat to Hook Norton has kept the Cinder Lane third from bottom in Division One West, but Davies says that he can’t fault his players for their effort.

“It is not as if we are playing badly, we are just throwing it away at the last minute,” he said.

“The application and attitude they showed to come back from the 3-1 down was fantastic.

“We have just got to learn not to throw it away like we have been doing.”