LAVERSTOCK and Ford's quest for the Sydenhams Wessex Division One crown suffered a dent on Tuesday night as they were thumped 4-1 by Shaftesbury.

Ex-Amesbury Town striker Danny Finnigan got the visitors off to a flying start after striking the opener on 24 minutes.

Five minutes later, their lead was doubled when a deflected drive found its way past a stranded Alexis Aguer in the Lavvy goal.

The hosts halved the deficit moments before half time when Rob Gallagher turned home from a set piece for his 11th goal of the campaign.

Gallagher went close to grabbing a leveller when he was foiled by a spectacular save from Daniel Card before rattling the woodwork.

However, Shaftesbury put the game to bed on the hour mark when Lavvy were caught napping from a long ball and Finnigan raced through to score.

A fourth was added late on to secure a resounding win for the visitors, who are up to fifth in the table.

Lavvy Co-manager Liam McConnell blasted his side's performance, saying "We were caught cold it's as simple as that.

"We were not at the level we have come to expect from this team and for the majority of the game we let ourselves down.

"We showed we could dominate possession and create chances by increasing our work rate and performance but doing it so infrequently in a game against a team who are clearly up for the challenge is not enough.

"The break of almost three weeks hasn't helped us but we can't use that as an excuse. The players are aware of what needs to be done and we will get the response we deserve."

The defeat sees Lavvy remain in second, a point behind leaders Hamble Club, who have two games in hand.

Lavvy have no game this weekend but return on Tuesday night for their rearranged derby at Downton.