SINGH Sabha lost ground in the race for the East Berkshire Football League Premier Division title after a 3-2 defeat against leaders Old Windsor on Saturday.

Sabha knew that a win was a must but Old Windsor carried on their impressive league form to run out victors in a fiercely contested match.

Singh Sabha went into the game on the back of a 4-1 success against the same opposition in a cup match the previous weekend, but knew it would be a completely different match in the Premier Division.

Sabha made a slow start and conceded a penalty kick inside five minutes when Jagdeep Bhullar was adjudged to have brought down a striker.

Bhullar was sent to the sinbin for his protests, but returning keeper Andrei Tonca made an impressive save from the resulting spot-kick.

Old Windsor took the lead from the resulting corner however as the Singh Sabha defence switched off and a striker was left unmarked to fire home from inside the box.

Sabha were unfortunate not to equalise before the break as Umar Riaz found Naheer Nawaf but the striker was denied after a fine save from the keeper, pushing the effort onto the post.

Singh Sabha made a poor start to the second half and conceded a second goal as Bhullar deflected the ball into his own net when trying to clear a free-kick into the box.

Their nightmare in defence continued when Old Windsor launched a counter-attack and, despite a good save from Tonca, the ball fell for the on-rushing player to fire home.

Sabha reacted well and pulled a goal back when a throw-in from Bhullar found Nawaf who, on the turn, fired home with his left foot into the bottom corner.

Singh Sabha grew in confidence and scored a second moments later as Old Windsor failed to clear a corner kick and the ball fell to Numaan Khan. His shot was blocked but the rebound was smashed home by Karim Chaibi.

Sabha were reduced to 10-men late on when keeper Tonca was sent to the sinbin and Old Windsor held on for the win to continue their 100 per-cent winning record in the league.

Singh Sabha will need to improve to have any chance of challenging for the title this season, but turn their attention to the Maidenhead Norfolkian Senior Cup and a match against AFC Cressex this Saturday.