Relegation-threatened King’s Lynn Town put a dent in Brackley’s play-off hopes with this midweek win that left The Linnets in the bottom four and saw Saints slip to 7th in a congested National League North table.

“I am really disappointed with the result and the performance in parts,” Gavin Cowan said. “We showed a bit of naivety in parts of the game and that has cost us tonight.”

Brackley started brightly dominating possession but without converting chances into a lead and it was the visitors who went ahead on 24 minutes as poor defending gifted a chance to Owen Devonport who found the net.

Danny Newton levelled on 42 minutes digging out his shot to find the bottom corner from Tyler Lyttle’s cross. King’s Lynn tested Danny Lewis in the moments before the interval, Saints’ keeper touching the ball away at full stretch from Devonport’s effort.

The second half saw Saints put in plenty of endeavour but with little end product as Adam Lakeland’s side defended strongly and took their chances to win comfortably. They regained the lead just before the hour as Kyle McFadden steered a free header beyond Lewis from Ben Stephens’ cross who had been afforded far too much space and time. On 79 minutes substitute Sam Walker sealed the points direct from a free-kick as his shot went in off both posts with Lewis rooted.

“Credit to King’s Lynn who set up making them hard to beat and hit us on the break but having levelled we had the momentum but didn’t really get started in the second half and didn’t lay a glove on them,” Cowan continued. “There are no excuses now and if we had been at our best tonight we would have gone on to win that game. We need to go to Warrington now with a fresh mentality and to set up to be the best we can be.”

Brackley Town: Lewis; Calder (Evans 82), Dean (Matwasa 80), Lilly, Lyttle; Murombedzi, Bates, Armson (Turner 80); Hall, Newton. Subs unused: O’Sillivan, Gudger.

King’s Lynn Town: Jones, Ronan, McFadden, Taylor, Coulson, Hargeaves, Crowe, Castro (Walker 73), Morrison, Devonport (Isaacson 96), Stephens (Cybulski 82). Subs unused: Brown, Rogers.

Referee: Harry Jones Assistants: Simon Kavanagh and Richard Fullicks

Attendance: 610

PIC by Pete Keen