HARRY Pritchard starred for Eastleigh on his first start of the National League season but admits he was left disappointed in the manner they conceded the late free-kick equaliser, insisting: “We could have defended that a lot better.”

The midfielder played left-wing-back in Ben Strevens’ five-back system and chipped in with a goal and an assist – crossing in for Ben House’s late strike which should have sealed all three points.

But after King’s Lynn Town were able to hit back with a direct free-kick, following a Michael Kelly and Andrew Boyce mix-up, and snatch a point with the game finishing 3-3, Pritchard gave an honest assessment.

He said: “We’re disappointed to come away having scored three goals at home and haven’t won the game.

“Overall we are disappointed, first half we looked really good, second half they changed their shape, had nothing to lose and came at us.

“Obviously they scored two goals to get back in the game, we scored again and they got back with a great free-kick at the end which we were disappointed to concede, we could have defended that a lot better and not given that free-kick away.

“The first-half we were all buzzing around, the goal going in the first minute helped that. But football isn’t just about first halves, we have to make sure we see games out.”

It was the first goals of the season for Strevens’ side after drawing blanks against Wrexham and at Bromley during the Bank Holiday weekend.

Pritchard thinks this is something to build on, despite a gut-wrenching result: “We’ve got goals now, in the previous games we didn’t score any so it’s nice to get them on the board.

“But we just need to cut goals out at the other end. I think it’s eight goals conceded in three games, that’s something to work on.”