Newmarket Town boss Michael Shinn slams ‘shameful’ second-half performance against Soham Town Rangers in Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup

Newmarket Town boss Michael Shinn slammed his side’s ‘shameful’ second-half performance against Soham Town Rangers and admitted it was something he did not want to put his name to.

The second-placed Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division outfit were knocked out of the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup after a 1-0 defeat at Julius Martin Lane on Tuesday night.

The Jockeys failed to create many clear-cut chances and rarely did they test Soham shot-stopper Finley Iron.

Shinn said: “I said to the boys the second-half performance was, by our standards, shameful really. The desire to get on the ball, I didn’t see any leaders, it was a tough one to take really.

“To this point we’ve done really well, but what I witnessed was not something that I want to put my name to. It was really, really, really poor.

“Not enough of players were willing to run and to feel pain to get a result. It’s as simple as that and plenty of their players were happy to do that.”

After their trip to Brantham Athletic was postponed on Saturday, Tuesday’s defeat means the Jockeys have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions.

Shinn’s side host ninth-placed Fakenham Town on Saturday (3pm) and the Newmarket boss wants to see a response.

“If any of the boys don’t feel that they can handle the pressure then (they need to) let me know because that’s how it’s going to be now until the end of the season,” he said.

“You have to be really brave, have broad shoulders, get on the ball, drive your team and make things happen.

“We thought we had signed some leaders in the summer, which we had, but tonight I think with half-an-hour to go lots of our players had hands on their hips like it didn’t matter. And it always does, it always does.

“I said at half-time that it was important that we didn’t get done on the break and within five or 10 minutes of the second half that’s exactly what happened.

“I can’t be too downbeat because until this point the boys have done great. We’re sitting in a really good position in the league, obviously a cup run is something that we’d like but it wasn’t to be.”