Ely City boss Brady Stone hailed the influence of Sam Reed after the striker bagged a brace in the Robins’ 3-2 defeat to Histon last night.

The former Bury Town ace struck twice in the first half at the Glass World Stadium but his goals couldn’t guide Ely to a first win of their Thurlow Nunn Premier Division campaign.

“Sam was our man-of-the-match,” Stone said.

“He was fantastic. He leads from the front and took his first goal really well.

“His second just came off him but he was in the right place at the right time. He only had two 60 minute appearances in pre-season but played the full 90 last night so we’re delighted for him.

“If we can keep him fit then hopefully the lads will be able to learn from him.”

However, Stone has been rocked by the news that captain and defender Jamie Alsop could be set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury in last night’s defeat.

“We’re looking at four to six weeks for Jamie,” Stone said.

“He went into a tackle and came off worse but we think it’s just swelling of the ligaments and no tears or anything.”

Alsop’s injury caps a disappointing week for the Robins which began with an FA Cup exit at the hands of Holbeach United.

The UCL Premier Division outfit snatched a 2-0 win at the Ellgia Stadium on Saturday but Stone is remaining optimistic despite watching his side experience two defeats in the space of three days.

“On Saturday we were excellent in the first half but we didn’t take our chances,” he said.

“When you’re on top, you need to take those opportunities but we didn’t and we were punished.

“There’s still 44 league games to go. If we’d have played three bad games then I’d be a little bit down now but we’ve played well.

“We’ve got a few injuries in the squad – six or seven are missing at the moment – but once they’re back then we’ll have a lot of competition for places.

“We just need to keep improving, keep playing with nothing to fear and cut out the silly mistakes and we’ll be fine.”

Ely host FC Clacton on Saturday (3pm) before travelling to Haverhill Borough on Tuesday (7.45pm).