DREADFUL Heybridge Swifts suffered their worst home league defeat for eight years after losing 4-0 to Grays Athletic, writes JON LONGMAN.

A win would have leapfrogged Swifts over Grays into the play-off places but they slumped to a bad defeat that saw home fans in the crowd of 308 leaving early, as their dismal home league form of just one win so far continued.

Swifts coach Adrian Whitbread said: “We were very, very poor and nowhere near the levels of the last three or four weeks with three wins and a draw.

“It was a bad day at the office and I don’t think any player came off with any credit.

“We had a good conversation with the players and that will stay within the four walls.

“It is baffling but you try to change the system and you try anything to find a spark after a couple of mistakes let them in.

“It was one of those days when nothing really worked.”

Ironically, the Swifts goalkeeper between the sticks on that bad day in November 2016 when the Swifts lost 5-0 to Thurrock was Danny Sambridge, who was on duty for Grays last weekend.

Former Swifts favourite Sambridge had a quiet afternoon at the First Call Community Stadium, enjoying banter with the Heybridge fans behind his goal as the visitors dominated this Pitching In Isthmian Division One North clash.

The reunions extended to seeing midfielder George Craddock back at Scraley Road along with Tyler Brampton who has moved to Grays after leaving the Swifts for Maldon and Tiptree, at the start of the season.

Grays skipper Craddock and wide man Aron Gordon tore the Swifts defence to shreds and their winning margin could have been wider than Reon Smith-Kouassi’s opener, Louis Remi’s second half brace and Luke Hirst’s final flourish.

The Swifts failed to muster any serious chances to test Sambridge and their four-match unbeaten run came to an end with the dismal home form continuing.

Worse still, Jack Adlington-Pile will miss this Saturday’s tricky trip to play Sporting Bengal United when Swifts will be defending their unbeaten league away record.

Pile will serve a one-match suspension and three more Swifts – Alfie Cutbush, Manny Osie-Owusu and Joseph Adewumni – are one booking away from a ban ahead of the first cut-off, at the end of November.

Whitbread added: “It is disappointing that we are talking about getting a reaction at Sporting Bengal next week and the lads say there are no easy games in this league.

“To win a game of football, you have to do the basics right and Grays did it better than us and that put the game out of our reach.

“You have got to work hard and the manager will be looking for a reaction, though we shouldn’t be asking for that, in training on Tuesday and Thursday nights.”