Duncan Mackay hopeful his side can improve in the new year

Old Streetonians captain Duncan Mackay was not too disheartened following his side’s loss at fellow strugglers Woodford at the weekend.

The Shoreditch-based side travelled to the fourth-from bottom outfit targeting a win, however, the home team dominated possession and ultimately deserved their victory.

“It would have been good to have picked up points at the weekend,” said Mackay.

“However, Woodford were the better team on the day and there is not a lot that we can do about that.

“I don’t think that the scoreline was necessarily a fair reflection of how we played, though.

“They only outscored us four tries to three, it’s just that they scored their conversions, kicked a couple of penalties and dominated possession and we didn’t.

“In the end, that proved to be the difference between the two sides.”

Despite the loss, which leaves Old Streets second-from bottom, Mackay insists his team can take quite a few positives from the game.

“There is definitely a fair bit that we can take into our next match,” said the captain.

“Our organisation was a lot better than in recent weeks, and for the first time this season, we played what is probably our strongest backline.

“Unfortunately we just couldn’t get them the service that they need.

“It was a game where we came off disappointed at not getting a bonus point for scoring a fourth try, but we are confident that the fruits of our labour will start to bare soon.”

Mackay is also confident that his side can recover from their poor first half of the season, which has seen them win just twice, starting with this weekend’s visit to league leaders Romford & Gidea Park.

“It is tight at the bottom of the league, and it could all come down to bonus points,” he said.

“So we have to make sure that we start picking up some as they could be vital come the end of the season.

“Make no mistake, we are going to need a lot of luck against Romford this weekend.

“They are flying at the top of the league, but we go there knowing that the past few games have been quite tight.

“When we played them earlier in the season, we were actually winning 6-5 after 50 minutes, but went on to lose the game.

“However, whatever the result is on Saturday, the new year will give us a chance of a new beginning.

“This league is tough, but there are four other teams of a similar standard to ourselves, and if we can keep our best players fit and register a few more wins, then I think we will be able to stay in this division.”