CANVEY soccer boss Jeff King was quickly on the offensive about poor defending after seeing his side slump to their third away defeat in four visits to opposition territory in the Nationwide Conference this term.

The latest setback came at the hands of previous bottom club Crawley Town, who pulled off their first win of the season in their seventh match after seeing off the Islanders 3-1 at the Broadfield Stadium.

With much of the third day's play in the Final Ashes Test at The Oval being wiped out by rain and bad light, Crawley's Sussex home was bathed in warm sunshine for this game.

And the heat is certainly on for Gulls after King moaned: "We can't go on giving away goals and expect to pick up points.

"We totally dominated the first-half but went in 1-0 down after conceding a goal after just about their only worthwhile attack in the first 45 minutes.

"Then, when we equalised right after the restart, we conceded again and were always fighting an uphill battle from then on.