Hollands & Blair boss Scott Porter is demanding better from his players as he looks to build momentum heading into their Challenge Cup Final against Fisher next month.

His Blair side let slip a 1-0 half-time lead against Whitstable Town on Monday to trail 2-1, but shortly after Ben Brown got them level at 2-2 late on, they conceded a penalty which the visitors duly converted for a 3-2 win.

It was a fourth straight defeat in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division, having suffered a 4-1 loss away to Welling Town on Saturday.

“That summed up our last four games, giving poor goals away,” said Porter.

“They had a lot of possession, we knew they would, but they didn’t open us up for their goals, we conceded from two crosses and a penalty and that frustrates the hell out of me. I hate conceding poor goals, especially from those areas.

“Whitstable are a possession-based side, we knew that. I thought we dealt with it okay, created a few chances ourselves and then we gave a poor penalty away - the bloke was back to goal, our centre-half has clattered him from behind when he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Three poor goals again and that has happened in the last four games now, since we got to the Cup Final. We have had a very stretched squad, players unavailable, players injured, players suspended. I still haven’t played the same team that got us to the Final.

“That was very frustrating because I thought at the end we were going to get the point.

“We need to pick up some wins, we need to get some consistency going into the Final because we’ve conceded 14 goals and lost four on the trot.

“This is a big three games for us now. We can’t just go to the Final expecting them to turn up, we need to generate that, work on it and play a team and get players back, get them back to fitness and ready.”

The club are awaiting news from a consultant on Tom Walmsley’s foot injury but fellow forward Harvey Welford should be back this Saturday when Blair play away to Sutton Athletic. Louis Valencia is nearing a return but failed a fitness test on Monday.

Blair follow up with a home match against Kennington on Tuesday night and finish their league season at home to Tunbridge Wells on April 22. They play in the Challenge Cup Final on Monday, May 1 (2pm) at Whitstable Town’s Belmont ground.

Monday’s defeat leaves them struggling to fulfil a top-10 league ambition, with five points to make up on the 10th-placed team. Weekend hosts Sutton are one of those sides standing in their way.

Porter said: “(Top 10) doesn’t look good at the minute but we want to get in the top 10 and win a Cup Final. That’s the plan. We are thereabouts, but we need to pick up some form and get some players back.”

Danny Walder will now serve a suspension after his red card on Monday for a second bookable offence. Blair were 2-1 down at the time, after Town had fought back from Sam Wright’s first-half effort.

Sam Stace had done the hard work for Brown to make it 2-2 with 10 men, only for the foul in the box allowing Harry Gamble to send Dan Ellis the wrong way.

Porter had no complaints about the red card, saying: “It was a red card, I told him. I told him not to make another tackle. They were playing on that, they wanted him to make another tackle. Danny Walder is an experienced player and he let me down with that.”

Porter will now be hoping the other injuries clear up ahead of that Final - but doesn’t want his players easing off.

He said: “I would like to get it settled before the last game of the season and then go into the Final with that same kind of set-up and that is what we are working on.

“I think players are wary. Are they going in? Are they committed? Are they working hard enough? Are they putting their necks on the line? In the back of their heads you have a Cup Final.

“I get it, but as a manager I want players to be dedicated and I don’t like losing football matches, simple, whether that is against Whitstable where I was (manager) before or Stansfeld who I don’t know.

“It frustrates me and conceding poor goals I hate.”