Brady Stone couldn’t hide his disappointment after Ely City threw away a one-goal lead in their 4-2 defeat to Ipswich Wanderers on Saturday.

The Robins gained the upper hand in the first half thanks to two strikes from Alex Theobald, but the Suffolk side roared back to snatch the victory.

Ipswich’s comeback means that Ely are now without a win in the league since October 8, and boss Stone says that it was frustrating to see his side spurn their advantage at the Unwin.

“It was very disappointing,” he said. “We had the lead but then conceded a terrible goal for 2-2.

“We had a lot of chances in the second half but just didn’t take them. I’ve always said that if you don’t take your chances in this league then you’ll get punished, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Stone, however, says that the scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of the game.

“We had four or five chances in the second half and we hit the post, so I think 4-2 flatters them a little bit,” he admitted.

“Their manager came up to me at the end and said they’d got away with it again because they beat us 2-1 at their place earlier on in the season.

“It was pleasing to get the two goals but disappointing to concede the goals like we did. We didn’t react to second balls in the second half and we were punished.”

A ninth defeat of the season for Ely leaves them in the bottom three, but a win in their next Thurlow Nunn Premier Division match – an home test against Stanway Rovers on November 19 – can fire them up to as high as 14th if results go their way.

“It’s very tight down at the bottom of the table,” Stone said. “We’ve had a lot of games with teams around us, but we haven’t won enough of them.

“We’ve got Stanway and Felixstowe & Walton United next, and they’re towards the top, so it’s going to be a tough run of fixtures.”