WESTCLIFF slumped back into the National Three London & SE relegation zone after suffering a disappointing 32-8 defeat at Westcombe Park.

The setback was Westcliff’s fifth in succession.

And first team manager Rick Compton knows they now face a real fight to avoid making a return to London One North.

“This result saw us slip into the bottom three and with a hill to climb to get out again in the final three games of the season,” said Compton.

“The result was disappointing but more so the performance as we were outplayed at the breakdown and were porous in defence with far too many missed tackles.

“There was no lack of effort but we were short on quality at the key moments and we will need to be better to get out of our current position.

“We’ve shown we’re capable of doing that but too infrequently lately and the final weeks of the season will be testing as we aim to prove we are up to it.”

Westcliff’s plight will not be helped by hooker Jack Hopkins suffering a dislocated shoulder three minutes into Saturday’s game.

He will now miss the rest of the season and could only watch on as Westcliff wilted at the weekend.

Westcombe Park raced into an early 7-0 lead before Westcliff replied with a penalty from Chris Dudman.

The hosts hit back with a kick of their own and then another try to extend their lead to 17-3 at half-time.

Westcliff attempted to press after the restart but they were second best in the key areas and the home side had momentum and confidence.

A further try after 46 minutes stretched the lead to 22-3 before extended pressure on the Park line saw Billy Morrant burrow over for the visitors.

However, the home side closed the game out comfortably scoring two further tries the second with the last play deep into added time to record a 32-8 victory.

The defeat leaves also leaves Westcliff in deep trouble with their three remaining matches all against teams in the top seven.

Westcliff: Argentieri, Mamea, O Jones, Parmenter, Merrick, Dudman, B Jones, Skidmore, Hopkins, Binneman, Dartnell, Anderson-Brown, Smith, Scoggins, Reynolds.

Replacements: Morrant, Dellas & Boughtwood.