TONY Sullivan did not hide his dismay following Witton Albion’s meek display in a 3-0 defeat at Matlock on Saturday.

The former Cammell Laird manager said his side’s first-half showing was one of the worst of his tenure against a direct rival to avoid relegation.

Witton are only four points clear of the Premier Division’s bottom four as a result.

“That’s as disappointing result as we’ve had since I came here,” he said.

“We were out-battled, bullied even, and didn’t deserve anything.

“Their centre forward battered our central defenders, and we weren’t strong enough to stand up to him.”

Sullivan admitted the enforced absence of John Shaw, ruled out by an injury sustained during the latter stages of a 1-1 draw with Buxton last weekend, had weighed heavy on the visitors.

He said: “We missed him badly.

“If he plays, it’s a totally different battle back there.

“Even without him, there was enough quality on the field to do better than we did.

“We were too deep defensively, which wasn’t an instruction given to the players.”

A victory would have left Matlock 10 points adrift of Albion in the table.

Instead the Gladiators, who have completed a league double over Witton this term, can close the gap to one if they can win a game in hand.

“It’s a game we didn’t want to lose,” said Sullivan.

“The most frustrating thing is our performance was the complete opposite of last week’s.

“We have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

To read a report on yesterday's game, click here: http://bit.ly/1wvMp0b