Spennymoor manager Jason Ainsley told his players a few home truths after they were beaten 2-1 at home by Grantham on Saturday.

Moors let a one-goal lead slip away, and with this setback they dropped to eighth in the table, two points below the play off places.

Ainsley let rip at his players in the dressing room after the game, their third home league defeat of the season. “It was a real scrap on a difficult pitch, and in the second half we were awful. We were second to the ball nearly all the time. Grantham were hungrier than us.

“We seem to do ok when we are winning games 2-0 or 3-0, but when the game is tight like the one on Saturday, we don’t have the ability to see games out. We must grind results out better than we are – Grantham managed to do it.

“Grantham were a good workmanlike side, and we didn’t deserve anything on our second half performance.

“But there’s no panic – we just don’t seem to make our lives easy.”

Moors had the benefit of a fifth minute lead when a poor clearance dropped to Glen Taylor who fired past the Grantham keeper, and they nearly got a second before half time when Graeme Armstrong missed a one-on-one.

The game turned on a harsh penalty decision against Moors on 56 minutes when Hollingsworth went down in the area, and Luke Shaw converted the penalty, with Moors claiming that the Grantham attacker had dived.

Two minutes later, Grantham were in front when Moors keeper Dan Lowson could only block a Shaw effort, and Shaw turned in the rebound.

Moors lost their cool slightly at some decision by the referee, although Taylor nearly levelled only to be denied by the keeper.

Team: Lowson, Griffiths, Watson, Ramshaw, Tait, Curtis, Henry, Johnson (sub Mitchell), Armstrong, Taylor, Anderson (sub White) League leaders Blyth had a comfortable 5-0 away win at Ilkeston and are nine points clear, while third placed Whitby finally managed to overcome Skelmersdale with a goal by recent signing David Carson.