Gary Setchell was left to rue a lack of cutting edge as King's Lynn Town were caught by a late sucker punch.

The Linnets, like during Tuesday's 1-0 home win over Cambridge City, had plenty of play at The Walks on Saturday against Bideford. Yet they failed to make the most of some decent openings and were the victims of a smash and grab raid when Liam Prynn found the net in the 85th minute as he got the faintest of touches to a Billy Tucker cross to embarrass marker Kern Miller and keeper Alex Street.

'The chances are popping up to all different people,' said Setchell.

'Speighty (Jake Speight) had a good chance and worked the keeper, (Lee) Stevenson first half worked the keeper, Hursty (Liam Hurst) worked the keeper. Their keeper (Kyle Moore) had a steady game.

'We put great balls into the box – a lot better than the ball they put in the box for their goal – and the harsh reality is we were the better team. Their gaffer (Sean Joyce) came up to me and said; 'We didn't deserve that but we'll take that.' That's fair enough. They did a great away day. If we do that at Hitchin (tonight) and Cirencester (on Saturday) I'll be delighted.

'We're playing reasonably well. We're not stinking like we did last season. We're not getting overrun and playing with no passion. We're playing with plenty of everything and we've just got to add the finishing touches. It's not always the finishing, sometimes it's the final ball or killer pass. We're not missing guilt-edged chances.'

The Linnets – who despite playing some easy-on-the-eye football have picked up just three points out of a possible nine so far – have a chance to bounce back immediately this evening when they visit Hitchin.

'Sometimes with a group of young players you can think you're a little bit better than you are,' added Setchell.

'We came off Tuesday to a great ovation, everybody thinks we've cracked it, and like I learned last season, this is a harsh step (three) of football. We lost a game at Merthyr we should have lost, we won a game we should have won against Cambridge, and we lost a game we should never have lost on Saturday. That's the facts.

'I believe we'll be in the top half and pushing. But we've got to put games like the weekend away. In both boxes you've got to be ruthless and that's the way it is up and down the country in all football matches.'