BASILDON ladies first team showed plenty of spirit but eventually fell to a 4-1 defeat at home to Royston.

Royston sit top of the table in Eastern Division Two C and have lost just twice this season but they were made to battle hard for victory at Gloucester Park by a plucky Basildon side whose goal was scored by their captain Claire Montano.

The player of the match award jointly went to Courtney Drysdale and Els Austin.

Coach Ian Roberts said: “We may have lost 4-1 but we played to a high standard for long periods of the game.

“For most of the game the score was 1-1 but tiredness resulted in a few goals being scored against us near the end.

“The girls showed how much they are improving and it was a fantastic effort from the whole team.”