DAVID Horseman says Saints B’s 3-2 defeat after being two goals up in just over ten minutes on Monday is “demoralising,” and “hurts the most out of them all this season.”

Unfortunately, he has plenty to choose from with seven defeats and just two draws in nine matches during the 2021-22 campaign, but this performance had all the potential to undo that run.

Dom Ballard and Caleb Watts’ goals had them in the driving seat at Birmingham, but before half-time the young Saints already found themselves behind and heading towards a fifth consecutive loss.

They remain bottom of the Premier League 2 Division Two table, following relegation from Division One last season.

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Speaking after the match, Horseman said: “This one probably hurts the most out of all of them this season.

“Strong start to the game, we go 2-0 up, everything we prepared for the boys did really well. Two good finishes which is what we have been missing up to now.

“But then we lost all against the ball disciplines and we let them back into the game which is the most disappointing thing, because we’re so much better than that, the boys have been really good at sticking to the plan but went completely away from that today.

“To throw such soft goals away is demoralising when we have to keep bending it into the top corner to score a goal. We don’t get the press right we don’t jump, so loads of learning to come out of that.”

Once again, Saints B are lining up with a side that is much, much younger than some of the teams they have been facing, with some players like Kamari Doyle and Dom Ballard that are still secondary school-age.

Horseman was keen to take some positives amid the disaster: “The second half performance was one of total domination, again there’s plenty to build from and plenty of individual performance that we can pick out and think that was strong.

“But the game management at 2-0 when they’re really suffering to let them back in, it’s the bit at the moment where you want to go in a first team dressing room you’ve got to be able to keep hold of the young ones and keep it together.”