Fresh from a ground-breaking 2-0 win over Camden Haven, Burn’s men couldn’t convert their opportunities in a 2-0 loss to Taree Wildcats.

“We could have and should have won the game, but we didn’t,” Burn lamented.

“It was a fairly even match and I thought we outplayed them for 40-45 minutes, but we just lacked that final penetrating pass from midfield.”

Wauchope went down a goal in the opening 15 minutes when the Wildcats were awarded a dubious penalty following a shot which ricocheted into a defender’s hand.

The referee had no hesitation pointing to the spot and Wauchope found themselves chasing the game after Dylan Webber converted.

They had their opportunities to equalise before the Wildcats made sure of the result with the last kick of the game when Jackson Witts found the back of the net.

“I think the last goal was just a case of the boys clock-watching,” Burn said.

“There must have been about 20 step-overs from the Taree bloke and we had two defenders on him, but none of them committed to the challenge.”

Kade Fens could have equalised for Wauchope in the first half when his cracking header was stopped on the line before being hastily cleared away.

“It’s a game we definitely could have won,” Burn said.