A 93rd minute goal condemned the Manor to an opening day defeat against Terry Spillane’s Stansted side.

The Manor had begun brightly with manager Kevin Durrant reverting to a 3-5-2 formation and handing competitive debuts to Michael Marin, Paul Marin and Danny Clarke.

Clarke was involved immediately and after good work down the left hand side he crossed for Manor skipper Dean Frett to nod home and give the hosts a 7th minute lead.

Michael Marin’s debut was cut short by a knee injury after just 20 minutes and the Manor began to lose their way in midfield. Stansted included Kieren King and Vinny Durrant, both of whom played for the Manor last season, in their team and they worked their way back into the game before half time forcing Nicky Mitchell in the Manor goal into action.

The second half started more evenly, but it was the visitors who again took control and 15 minutes from time they finally got their reward when Kevin Vallis’ shot cannoned down off the crossbar and was adjudged to have crossed the line for the equaliser.

The Manor briefly rallied and Asa Pamplin went close, but the final act of the game was a controversial one. A foul throw, which was missed by the officials, despite both of the players’ feet being on the pitch found its way into the Manor box and indecision from the home side allowed Joe Johnson to poke home the winner.

Manor boss Kevin Durrant said: “I’m gutted to lose the game. We started well, but we have to admit Stansted controlled long spells of the match. To lose in that fashion though is truly galling and it leaves us with work to do to rebuild in the next few games.”

Man of the Match

Nicky Mitchell - Keeper made vital saves.

Manor Team:

1 Nicky Mitchell
2 Richard Simpson
3 Tom Nyama
4 Michael Marin (replaced by number 17)
5 Steve Reading
6 Carl Bailey
7 Paul Marin (replaced by number 14)
8 Dean Frett (c) - 1
9 Danny Clarke
10 Asa Pamplin
11 Joe May

12 Chris Barratt
14 Joe Nightingill
15 Aaron May
16 Tony Hadley
17 Michael Georghiou