Chatham Town boss Kevin Hake has challenged his side to respond positively after a frustrating defeat at Aveley.

The Chats suffered a 1-0 loss at Parkside on Saturday, with Francis Mampolo scoring the winning goal five minutes from the end of normal time.

Hake felt his side created enough chances to win but was frustrated by their failure to convert them.

Chatham are back on the road tonight (Tuesday) when they face Dulwich Hamlet at Champion Hill in the Isthmian Premier Division.

Hake said: “Saturday against Aveley was a frustrating afternoon because I felt we created more than enough opportunities to win the game.

“Ultimately, football is about taking your chances, and when you don’t, you always leave yourself susceptible to a moment of quality, which is exactly what happened with their winning goal.

“It was a fantastic strike, but from our perspective, we should have had the game won before that.

“The pleasing thing is that we’re creating opportunities, but we have to be more clinical in front of goal.

“At the same time, we can’t dwell on the result because the games are coming thick and fast.

“Our attention now turns to Dulwich away on Tuesday night, which is never an easy place to go. After that, we’ve got Welling at home, who are currently second, followed by Enfield away, who are top of the league.

“It’s a really demanding run of fixtures, but it’s also a great opportunity for us to test ourselves against some of the strongest sides in the division.

“We know we’re capable of competing with anyone on our day. The challenge now is finding that consistency, turning good performances into results and making sure we’re ready for every game.

“There’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to respond positively, starting at Dulwich.”

Chats are four points off the Isthmian Premier Division play-off places following their weekend loss.