JACK Cherry feels Halstead Town are being the architects of their own downfall at the moment and insists that it has to stop if theyr are to achieve their Thurlow Nunn League division one south goals this year.

The Humbugs have their sights set on promotion - and even the division one south title - this year, but results like their 2-1 defeat by leaders White Ensign last weekend and the 3-3 draw with Little Oakley in their previous outing are hurting their chances.

A win against White Ensign would have taken the Humbugs back to the summit of the table and, having gone ahead with a strike from Tom Cook in the second minute, they know they should have got more from the game, despite some horrendous weather conditions.

However, Halstead ended the day sat third and five points of the pace of the frontrunners after not making the most of scoring opportunities they created and then getting caught by a sucker punch in the final minute of the game.

And Cherry says it has to stop - starting with Saturday's pre-Christmas trip to Wormley Rovers and then Halstead's Boxing Day trip to Wivenhoe Town.

“It was a tough one to take against White Ensign, especially as we went ahead early on," said Cherry.

“I thought we could have managed it better as we had two or three really good chances to go further ahead and should have buried them, but it just fizzled out.

“Conditions didn’t help but we didn’t really create in the same way in the second half.

“There was hardly a shot on target.

“But I don’t think they were better than us by a long way, but we are contributing to our own downfall at the moment.

“Mistakes are costing us.

“It was the same against Little Oakley, when we were three-nil up and errors hurt us.

“That’s annoying because we know we can do it and it’s just mistakes.

“Cut them out and we will carry on what we’ve been doing for most of the season."

Halstead skipper Jake Brown agreed with Cherry that the team had shot themselves in the foot, but he knows they can get back on the right track quickly with games coming up quickly over the festive period.

Brown said: “I felt we were controlling it after the first half, but they lifted their game up when we came out after half-time.

“We gave the ball away with a mistake that led to their first goal and it was a set piece for their second, but I thought a draw would have been a fair result as it was a close game.

“It’s tough to take against a side who are up there with us and we’re now five points behind them so we have a lot of work to do now.

“We can’t afford slip ups like this and we’re now looking to pick up points over the Christmas period.

“We’ve had a bit of a stutter recently and it’s very important for us to get back on track quickly."