Sutton & Epsom coach Jeff Parsons bemoaned his side’s bad luck on Saturday as they succumbed to a controverisal and disappointing 31-3 defeat at Chobham.

Sutton, who beat Chobham 10-8 earlier in the London Division Two South season, struggled to overcome their hosts this time round.

However, according to Parsons, they also had three good tries disallowed.

The loss was Sutton’s sixth in their past eight games but Parsons feels the scoreline does not tell the whole story and believes his side were let down by poor refereeing.

He said: “If we were awarded even one or two of the disallowed tries then it could have been very different.

“Obviously I was some way from the line but the boys are adamant the tries were good so it is disappointing that the officials weren’t in the right place at the right time to see them.”

The loss capped off a bad week for Parsons who also conceded that skipper Matt Whitaker is now out for the rest of the season.

The 26-year-old, who played a key part in Sutton’s promotion last season, was knocked unconscious in October during the win against Chobham and is struggling to recover from the injury.

Parsons added: “It is a head injury so you have to be really careful with it – it’s a big loss for us.

“He went for a scan this weekend and unfortunately it was inconclusive so he will have to go for more.”

Sutton face an inconsistent Cobham next this weekend and Parsons is preparing for a difficult test against the side sitting two places above them in seventh.

He said: “It will be a real tough game for us – they beat us earlier in the season. “We will have to work hard in training and iron out a few mistakes before the weekend.”