Skegness Town returned from a difficult away trip to league leaders Belper United empty-handed, but there were some positives to take from a hard-working performance against one of the division's in-form sides.

With Belper flying in their quest for promotion, the Seasiders knew they faced a tough afternoon at the Don Amott Arena. The huge 3G surface presented its own challenge, with the hosts having built an impressive record and several teams having suffered heavy defeats against them this season.

Skegness travelled with a depleted squad, missing Conor Marshall, Kyle Radford, Josh Morrell, Harley Thompson and Jordan Nuttell. New signing Daniel Bridges took his place on the bench, while Jakub Supierz was also recalled to the matchday squad.

Despite those absences, Skegness applied themselves well and showed some encouraging passages of play against formidable opposition. Ultimately, two first-half goals proved decisive, with the hosts demonstrating their quality at key moments.

Belper took the lead in the 19th minute through Jay Bruce, with the goal coming after a short corner led to a second phase of play. The hosts worked the ball well in the penalty area before finding the breakthrough, punishing Skegness despite the visitors' efforts to keep them at bay.

The second goal arrived on 35 minutes, when Finlay Barker capitalised on a moment of confusion. The ball appeared to have gone out of play, but with no signal from the assistant referee, play continued. Some hesitation from the Skegness players, who believed the ball had gone dead, allowed Belper to take advantage and double their lead.

At 2-0 down, the Lilywhites faced a difficult task against a side with plenty of attacking quality. However, the visitors continued to work hard and remained committed to their approach, refusing to let the scoreline dictate their effort.

A change in shape at half-time helped Skegness disrupt Belper's attacking rhythm in the second period, limiting the hosts' ability to continue the pressure they had applied before the break. We showed good discipline and organisation, working tirelessly to prevent the deficit from growing.

At the other end, however, Skegness struggled to create a consistent attacking threat and were unable to find a way back into the contest. Belper's quality, particularly on their own surface, ultimately proved too much on the day.

While the result was disappointing, the performance must be viewed in context. Travelling to face the league leaders with several key players unavailable was always going to be a significant challenge, especially against a team who have demonstrated their ability to score freely against opposition throughout the division.

There will be no points to show for the trip but Skegness can take encouragement from their work rate, resilience and ability to make the second half more competitive after the interval.

Matches against high-flying sides such as Belper are part of the challenge over the course of a long season, but they will not define Skegness Town's campaign. Manager Gary King will be keen to turn his focus to the games ahead, with a need to address a slide to the bottom of the league form table, with no win in the last 6 league outings. He will undoubtedly be frustrated that we didn't get three points from the abandoned game against Clay Cross last week. Especially as the team led 3-2 with just 10 minutes to go when the game was halted.

This Saturday presents the opportunity for the gaffer to get the team winning again in cup football action, with a break from league duties, and a visit to St Neots in the UCL Cup. A victory in that competition would be just what we need to kickstart some winning momentum.

Full-time: Belper United 2-0 Skegness Town

Team: Jake Lovelace, Matt Ward, Noah Simmons, Matt Clarke, Bailey Forth, Kieran Wressell, Lucas Dakin, McCauley Parker (C) (75' Daniel Bridges), Dec Johnson (79' Jakub Supierz), Jamie Potts, Liam Adams

Subs not used: Nick Jackson, Gary King, Jamie Robinson