CANVEY Island suffered a narrow 20-18 defeat against Writtle Wanderers in Essex One B.

Canvey had gone into the game full of confidence after trouncing Witham 160-0 in their previous encounter.

But the Islanders were unable to impress and that left coach Jay Breading a frustrated figure at the final whistle.

“There are no excuses, that has got to be our worst performance of the season,” said Breading.

“Our backs never seemed to get moving and our normally dominate pack was at times lethargic.

“I don’t think the big win last week put us in the right frame of mind to take on a team with the determination Writtle showed.”.

Writtle opened the scoring from virtually the kick off when they intercepted a pass and ran in a converted try.

However, Canvey’s Jon Edwards then replied with three penalties to Writtle’s one to give an indication of the way the game was going.

The Islanders led 10-9 at the break but the second half was almost a repeat of the first.

Edwards kicked a penalty but then left the pitch with an injury.

Damon Cooper took over kicking duties and landed a penalty before Writtle replied with a penalty of their own.

Cooper soon replied with another penalty to put the Islanders 18-13 in front with only minutes to go.

But Writtle were determined to have the last word and did exactly that when, after spreading the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, they put the ball down over the line for a converted try which handed them a 20-18 win in a league and cup double header.