Wanderers went down to Prospect 2-0 at Gissing Oval on Sunday.

A poor first-half defensive possession turned into a costly turnover and resulting Prospect goal when Matthew Pritchard converted a well-placed cross to give the visitors the lead.

The local side compounded their problems when half back Sam Jenkins flicked a fast ball back to keeper Rob Fry, only for it to hit a rough patch of grass, jump over Fry’s foot and find its way into goal.

Wanderers created a few late chances after injured coach Ben Schmid lit a fire under his men from the sidelines, but it was to no avail.

Along with Schmid, the state league side was without import Vasilis Spilotopoulos (ribs), keeper Liam Dedini (hand) and experienced midfielder Adrien Jolly (taking notes on Arsenal in Sydney).

Schmid has insisted that while his struggling side has continued to rack up losses, they’re stringing together better patches of play.

“I told the boys at half-time to have some confidence in themselves and they came out and played some really nice patches where Prospect didn’t touch the ball at all,” he said.

The Wanderers leader said the contest illustrated his young side needed to learn how to adapt to increasing defensive pressure.

“They went to a higher press in the second-half and we ran out of ideas of how to play the ball out of the back line,” he said.

“I’d like to see us get a little more creative in that regard.”