THE Lynchpin assistant manager Paul Furnell says his miss-firing strikers are to blame for the 1-0 defeat to Maidenhead Magpies.

The ‘Pin got the defence of their East Berkshire Premier title off to a losing start on Saturday. A Xavi Etienne goal the difference between the two sides.

Speaking to the Observer, Furnell said: “It was a good game of football to be fair and Maidenhead aren’t a bad side, we just couldn’t hit the target.

“I think if we would’ve done that then we would have won the game comfortably.

“It was all us in the first-half, but they got a grip of the game after and scored a wonderful goal.

“We played well for 80 minutes and had a few cleared off the line, but Maidenhead defended well.

“Maidenhead will pick up points this season, but if our strikers were on target then we would have won the game.” Furnell continued: “We’re all new faces and some of the older players have dropped into the reserves.

“It’s early days and we just have to pick ourselves up. We have got a strong side.

“Last year we had old heads with experience of the Premier, but this season we have young lads with pace, but no experience.” **PICK up a copy of the Observer, out now, for all the latest sports news and action including more from our exclusive East Berkshire League coverage** **FOLLOW the Observer on Twitter at @Observer_sports**