HEYBRIDGE Swifts boss Jody Brown wants his players to prove their 8-1 hammering against Cheshunt was a “freak result”.

By a strange quirk of coincidence, they face the same opposition again this weekend, except this time in the FA Trophy.

The sides, who will face each other in a first round qualifying tie, met at Scraley Road in the Ryman League north division on Saturday and shell-shocked Swifts were left red-faced after a crushing defeat.

Brown has vowed that there will be no repeats and wants his players to take the opportunity to redress the balance.

“It’s perfect timing and a great opportunity to show our heart, to stand up and prove it was a freak result,” said the Swifts boss.

“You don’t get chances like this very often and if we take it, and give a much better account of ourselves, maybe we can upset the odds.

“We’ll have a much stronger team out and, hopefully, what happened last week will be a turning point in our season.

“We’ll have to work really hard to get out of this situation but we will get out it.”

While philosophical about the defeat, Brown admitted being disappointed by the way his side folded.

“The thing that upset me was that some of the players didn’t appear to have the stomach for a fight,” he said.

“Heads dropped after the fourth goal went in and I can’t allow that to happen.

“It’s not fair on the supporters or anyone connected with the club.

“The players were embarrassed afterwards.

“I expressed my concerns but didn’t say too much – no-one needs to be told they’ve played badly after an 8-1 defeat.

“But we simply didn’t put up a fight and I felt for our supporters, which is why I came out and apologised on Saturday night.

“There were many uncontrollable circumstances, but no excuses and that’s why I offered my sincere apologies to our fans.

“Never again will a team I select perform like that.

“Strong people would use it as a catalyst to turn things round and, as manager, it’s down to me to separate the strong and weak characters.”

Swifts were back in Ryman League north division action on Tuesday night and bounced back with a 2-0 victory at home to Aveley.