Wisbech Town boss Luke Hipwell admitted his side had shown familiar signs of naivety after their FA Vase hopes were ended by Step 6 Belstone on Saturday.

The Fenmen suffered a disappointing 4-2 defeat in Hertfordshire, with Hipwell frustrated by his players’ decision-making but full of praise for the travelling supporters.

Kushan Lewis-Thomas put Belstone ahead after 19 minutes before Ryan Lennon levelled from the penalty spot four minutes later.

Jordan McNally restored the hosts’ advantage with a 33rd-minute penalty and struck again midway through the second half.

Sam Harris reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute, but Eyituayo Akinbulumo sealed Belstone’s victory seven minutes from time.

Wisbech’s misery was compounded by Kern Miller’s injury-time dismissal.

Hipwell said: “The first thing I want to say is a massive thank you to all the supporters who came.

"There must have been 60 or 70 of them and I think that shows just how far we’ve come as a football club since I’ve been here.

“We’ve travelled around 100 miles and out-supported them. The result is disappointing, of course, but we all really appreciate everyone making that effort.

“Sometimes you get performances where the players don’t do themselves justice. Have we had a few injustices? Yes, I think so. Equally, have we shown naivety yet again? Yes.

“How many times do I need to keep saying the same things? But when you look at the injuries, suspensions and unavailability we’ve got at the minute, we’ve been getting by recently and perhaps this was one game too many.

“People will say Wisbech have lost to a Step 6 side, but there’s a reality check needed. They play in the Combined Counties League around London and have a massive pool of players to call upon.

“I told the lads they might be Step 6, but they play like a Step 5 side. They’re well coached, athletic and have match-winners.

“I thought we started really well, got on the front foot and caused them problems. We should have had an earlier penalty, but then we’ve made a mistake for their opener.

“We reacted well and Lenny tucked away the penalty beautifully, but we went in 2-1 down.

“I thought Conor Peters was magnificent in midfield. His tenacity and determination kept driving us forward and his shot led to Sam Harris scoring our second.

“But everything was just okay today when it needed to be better.

“For their fourth goal, we’ve allowed someone to run 50 yards. We needed to be cuter and more ruthless. Someone had to take a yellow card to stop that run.

“At 4-2, it’s a sucker punch. We’re pushing to get back into it and suddenly the balloon has popped.”

Hipwell delivered some harsh words in the dressing room afterwards but insists his players must quickly regroup.

“We’ve got to move on, lick our wounds and get ready for another tough game away at Haverhill next Saturday.

“I’ll watch the game back and we’ll work in training to put the wrongs right. Hopefully we can get a successful result.”

The Fenmen return to Thurlow Nunn Premier Division action at Haverhill Rovers this weekend.

Wisbech Town: Elsom, Falcao, Cole, Peters, Mattless, Miller, Lennon, Harris, Edge, Harris, Kennedy. Subs: Smith, Murkin, Adelu, Seales, Barrett.