Upottery suffered a surprise defeat that dented their hopes of winning the Fresha league Division One title when they went down 2-1 at Alphington Reserves.

The villagers were well below par for a contest that was played on a sticky surface.

However, they created plenty of chances, but it proved to be ‘one of those days’.

Upottery boss Dan Prettejohn was understandably disappointed.

He said: “The pitch was heavy which did not help us, but it was the same for both sides. Fitness played a big part and they were certainly fitter than us. We did fashion as many as five one-on-one scoring opportunities and all went begging. Is this a case of points lost? You bet you life it is. It’s three points chucked away for I have no doubt that all our rivals for a coveted promotion berth will go to Alphington and win. Losing is a blow, but the lads gave their all and, for a rare time this term, we came up short.”

Prettejohn then opened up about the situation the club now finds itself in.

He said: “It’s worrying me. The bottom line is we are a village football team. We have the luxury of a top drawer committee who back me and the team 100 per cent – and then some! The problem I feel is that not enough of the players share my passion to see this mission we are on through. By that I mean for us to get Upottery to dine at the top table – play in the Fresha League Premier Division – is going to need one big push from us all. We are privileged to have a superb –and successful – Reserve team that’s clearly buzzing right now and that was an important step to take, getting a second team out and able to support the first team. What worries me is that if not enough of the first team squad can match my enthusiasm to get the job finished, then we may well fall short and that would be a footballing crime in my book as we have worked so hard to get our club so close to the promised land of Premier football.”

He continued: “Don’t get me wrong, the players, in general, are giving me all they have. The commitment is fabulous – from most – but the key to use seeing the job through is for us all to be singing from the same hymn sheet. I am desperate to deliver top flight football to Upottery FC and if everyone can share my desire and passion for this to happen - then it will!”