BOSS Matt Tubbs bemoaned his side’s lack of cutting edge as Poole Town slumped to a fourth successive defeat, admitting: “The tide has got to turn.”

A 2-0 home loss to Hayes & Yeading on Tuesday night leaves Dolphins as close to the Southern League Premier South relegation zone as they are to the play-off places, eight points away from both.

It also marked a third straight defeat at BlackGold Stadium in the space of eight days, capitulating to let a two-goal lead slip and lose 5-4 to Salisbury last week, before a 3-0 loss to Hanwell Town on Saturday.

Reflecting on defeat to Mark Molesley’s Hayes, Tubbs told the Daily Echo: “I’ve been frustrated previously, but I was really disappointed (on Tuesday).

“I thought we dominated, especially in the first half. I thought we played some really good stuff.

“We nullified them. They maybe had one chance. We had some really good opportunities.

“But the higher up the leagues you go, if you don’t punish teams, you don’t put the ball in the back of the net, you get punished yourselves. We found ourselves on the receiving end of that.

“I thought we had some really good chances. I thought the goals we conceded were a little bit soft. I’ll watch them back and might have a different opinion.

“But I’m disappointed. Clearly the tide has got to turn at some point.

“If we play like we can and get our noses in front, no-one will beat us.

“It’s just having the will to stick everything in the back of the net and I don’t think we really had that.”

After a goalless first half, two goals inside seven second-half minutes from Mo Bettamer and Ayo Faniyan earned the points for the visitors.

“We played some really good stuff,” insisted Tubbs.

“I said at half-time that is probably the best collectively we’ve actually played, playing through teams, round teams and over teams.

“I’d be more disappointed if we weren’t creating chances, because then we’re not doing our job right on the training pitch.

“But we are creating loads of chances, which is the only positive I can take from it.

“We’re creating a lot, they’re doing everything we’ve asked, apart from sticking the ball in the back of the net.

“On another day, we get three points (on Tuesday) and we get three points on Saturday. But we’re not.

“We’re on the back of four defeats, which is really tough to take.

“No manager, coach or staff anywhere wants to be on the receiving end of that.

“But we can’t rest on it. The games come thick and fast now.

“We have to dust ourselves down now and go into Salisbury as positive as we can.”

Dolphins head to the Raymond McEnhill Stadium on Saturday to face Brian Dutton’s title-chasing Whites (3pm).