RADCLIFFE joint manager Anthony Johnson said his side will dust themselves down and go again following last weekend’s shock 4-0 defeat at Matlock Town.

Johnson said one game would not define Boro who tasted defeat for just the second time in 14 games in the NPL Premier Division.

Radcliffe still have a healthy lead at the top of the table and Johnson said he can’t wait to get back in to action at home to Gainsborough Trinity on Saturday.

“From our point of view, we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves down and go again because in terms of the performance, we weren’t too bad,” Johnson told the club website.

“We have had an absolutely unbelievable start to the season. We are a third of the way in and one result doesn’t define what we are doing and what we have not done.

“We will bounce back and go again. We can’t wait.”

Jonathon Margetts did the damage for Matlock, scoring all four goals - including a first half hat-trick with one of his goals coming from the penalty spot. It was the first time Radcliffe had not scored at least two goals in a league game this season let alone not score at all.

But Johnson praised Matlock for adapting to the conditions the better of the two sides.

“It reminded me of Warrington Rylands in the first game of the season," he said.

“Everything that we hit in the first game of the season went in, everything that Rylands hit didn’t and it felt the same.

“To be fair to them, they adapted to the pitch. Their style of football in terms of getting the ball in the channels and turning us early, it worked an absolute treat.

“In terms of adapting, I thought their game plan was outstanding.”

He added: “It did feel like we should have scored four or five ourselves and that is not to say they shouldn’t have scored any more.

“It was a game of basketball, it was end-to-end and everything the hit went in, preying on our mistakes and there were some horrendous mistakes, individual mistakes, and from our point of view, they had something to hold on to so they were putting bodies on the line.”

Johnson said Radcliffe will continue to play their own style of football and remain true to what they believe in.

“We played some really positive stuff, we created really good opportunities but what we have done this season is 90 per cent of the time we taken those opportunities but (on this occasion) we didn’t,” he said.

“It is the first time we haven't scored a goal but it wasn’t for the want of not creating opportunities.

“We played our way, if people want us to adapt to pitches and playing a different way we would be going against what we do. We are more than happy with the way we set up, the way we try to play.

“What we are not happy about is the individual error and being punished for genuine mistakes. It happens in football, fortunately we have been on the other side of things... we fell the other side of it.

“It’s not a problem, we will just put it right in the next game.”