A MISSED penalty proved costly as Basildon United suffered a 3-0 defeat to Isthmian North promotion chasers Coggeshall Town.

Callum Taylor saw his early penalty saved by Coggeshall goalkeeper Danny Sambridge, while the hosts went onto score from the spot themselves courtesy of Nnamdi Nwachuku.

Mekhi McLeod and Ross Wall rubber-stamped Coggeshall’s win, but Bees boss John Sussex felt the scoreline was harsh on his side.

“I think there are fine margins very often in games,” said Sussex.

“We missed a penalty, whereas they scored a penalty and scored two more goals late on when we were stretched.

“I don’t think 3-0 was a fair reflection of the game, to be honest.”

Basildon went into the clash having notched their first win since Sussex’s appointment last time out.

And they were offered a golden opportunity to take an early lead as the Bees were awarded a penalty.

But Coggeshall custodian Sambridge sprung to his right to keep out Taylor’s effort.

And the hosts took the lead just after the hour mark as Nwachuku sent Basildon goalkeeper Russell Harley the wrong way with his spot-kick.

McLeod grabbed his first Coggeshall goal after being found by Sambridge’s long kick upfield, while Wall hammered home to complete the scoring.