ROCHFORD Hundred remain one point and one place above the National League Two East relegation zone after losing 52-7 at Bury St Edmunds.

Rochford had been hoping to build on their hard fought win against Canterbury last time out.

But Hundred headed home empty handed despite making a bright start which head coach Danny Cleare felt his side needed to make more of.

“We started really well against Bury and we were the dominant team for the opening 10 minutes,” said Cleare.

“Frustratingly we butchered three or four opportunities to score and didn’t take any of them.

“Bury then seemed to kick themselves into gear and scored a few lovely long range tries through their dangerous backs and before you know it we were 24-0 down at half time when we really shouldn’t have been.”

And Bury remained on top after the break before Rochford started to fight back.

“The start of the second half was all Bury for the first 10 minutes and then we fought our way back into the game,” said Cleare.

“We had a proper go and made a number of line breaks but the last pass just wasn’t sticking until about the 70th minute where Charlie Owens scored his first senior try for the club which was nice a moment for him.

“But unfortunately I think we really rued our early missed opportunities because if we went 12 or 14-0 up early doors and had our tails up then you wonder could we have got at least something out the game?”

However, Cleare was also quick to praise Bury’s performance.

“We can’t take anything away from Bury because they are a class team and have one of the most dangerous set of backs in the league,” said Cleare.

“They are arguably the best counter attacking team in the league that can score from anywhere and they really exposed our defensive frailties at times.”

Rochford’s relegation rivals North Walsham were also beaten to keep them behind Hundred in the standings.

And Cleare is now turning his attention towards this Saturday’s clash with seventh placed Old Albanians at Magnolia Road.

“OA’s are another really tough outfit and a team fighting for second place in the league,” said Cleare.

“They have a strong Saracens link so get some excellent academy players from them to bolster their team, so it’s going to be another massive challenge but it’s a challenge we must overcome if we want to stay in this league.”

Bottom of the table Westcliff - who are already relegated - lost 55-3 at Tonbridge Juddians while in Regional Two Anglia, Southend Saxons went second with a 34-14 win at Chelmsford.