ANGRY Albion boss Brian Horton has accused his players of gifting Barnet the first reverse of his reign.

Horton was furious with his side's first half performance and the goals which sentenced them to a 2-0 defeat at Underhill. "In the first half we were very poor, he fumed. Not one player could hold his head up and think he'd done well. "They were two particularly poor goals and that is probably the reason that we are down near the bottom. We gave the game to Barnet." Phil Simpson put third-placed Barnet ahead seven minutes into a one-sided first half, but Albion improved in the second half after Horton switched Steve Barnes to a free role in the middle of midfield. Kerry Mayo had strong claims for a penalty turned down and Stuart Storer (twice) and Paul Linger hit the post, but Lee Howarth's tap-in with 19 minutes left sealed the Seagulls' first defeat in four matches under Horton. "I don't like losing full stop and it's become too much of a habit with the players," he added. "They go 1-0 down and feel a little bit sorry for themselves. "The second half was much better. We changed the system and dominated, but the second goal was an amateur one. A straight ball from near the halfway line into a striker to turn and cross is pathetic." Albion's reserves have a hastily rearranged Combination game against Southampton at Woodside Road, Worthing, tonight (7.0).

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