DESPITE suffering a 2-1 defeat, White Ensign player-manager Brett Munyard feels the friendly with Bowers & Pitsea will result in a boost in confidence.

White Ensign have fallen off the pace for the Eastern Senior League Division One South title and now find themselves 11 points adrift of league leaders Hashtag United.

But Munyard hopes competing with the Isthmian North’s table-toppers will benefit his side when they head to 17th-placed Newbury Forest on Saturday.

The player-manager said: “A few people had said to me that we needed a confidence booster and playing the Isthmian North champions-elect was suicide!

“However, I knew what a good performance could do for our confidence levels.

“I believe the team went away from the game with Bowers more than satisfied and full of confidence going into a big game against Newbury Forest.”

Jake McWee headed White Ensign in front after just three minutes, but Bowers hit back thanks to goals from Khadean Campbell and James Thomas.

Bowers boss Rob Small was full of admiration for White Ensign’s display at the Len Salmon Stadium.

And Munyard believes his side will learn from the lessons they were taught by the hosts.

“Overall, I was really pleased with the boys,” added Munyard.

“The workrate and desire was fantastic.

“Every player got at least 45 minutes and it was exactly what we needed going into Saturday’s game.

“It was certainly a lesson for our players. I thought James Thomas was outstanding for Bowers and our right-back Thando Moyo did really well.

“In fact, Bowers’ front three were extremely lively and clever and our backline were superb.

“It was a great experience for our defensive players.”

The player-manager was particularly pleased with how his players adapted to the gameplan he had put in place.

Munyard admitted: “We made a few changes to our approach for obvious reasons.

“We knew we wouldn’t have as much possession as we normally do and our gameplan was based on defensive organisation and limiting Bowers’ ability to hurt us through the middle of the pitch, which I must say I thought we did excellently.

“We were a bit disappointed with what we did once we got the ball, but their fitness levels and even their squad depth was always going to be very hard to match.

“I can’t fault anyone and I thought we contributed to a very competitive game.”