Green and Whites warned to learn from their mistakes at Charlton Park

The Green and Whites had to settle for a losing point as they went down at home to a powerful side, who are aiming to return to London 1 South at the first opportunity following relegation last season.

Horsham – who led 17-13 at the break – scored through Joe Wilde, Tom Johnson and 17-year-old Jordan Bell with Johnson kicking three conversions and two penalties.

And despite having a young team which at one stage, when Johnny Ordidge had gone off injured, saw a youthful back-line containing no players over the age of 23, Stocker has stressed they must learn from their mistakes.

He said: “It was a disappointing result against a large lumpy team that didn’t create any notable chances, but scored tries from our mistakes giving good possession in dangerous position.

“There were too many missed tackles, especially in wide spaces and we need to tighten that up significantly.

“The youngsters in the team are learning that any mistake gets punished and every player needs to take responsibility to improve individually and collectively. Early injuries disrupted our pattern, but we still fashioned opportunities that weren’t taken.”

The Green and Whites led after just three minutes as good pressure from the defence resulted in a Mike Tredgett carry and Johnson kick through, which was chased and finished by Wilde. Johnson converted from wide on the sideline for a 7-0 lead.