Wingate & Finchley sit 16th in the Ryman Premier after the Blues were beaten 3-0 at league leaders Hornchurch.

It took only seven minutes for the hosts to take the lead. A short back pass put Bobby Smith in a helpless position and a square pass found Carl Rook for a tap in.

Wingate settled and there was little between the two sides. The visitors went close as Spencer McCall's header just missed the far post.

However, on the half hour mark, Hornchurch doubled their lead as George Purcel found the net with a low drive. Rook then hit the bar with a header as Hornchurch finished the half strongly.

Leon Smith was introduced at the interval for Wingate and he came close with a shot that just went wide.

Smith was still the busier keeper and he acrobatically tipped a Dave Rainford free kick wide before saving from Frankie Curley.

The second half had been tight but the game was settled with another sloppy goal as Stefan Payne pounced on a poor clearance to score from close range.

Wingate midfielder Dan McGonigle said: "It’s a difficult place to come, they have their style of play and are good at it. Unfortunately we didn't start the game well enough and made some wrong decisions early on which cost us.

“After that I didn't feel there was a lot between the sides, but I suppose they were already two up and possibly sat back.

"We did come out well in the second half but conceded another poor goal, and we do have some positives out of the game with the good general performance that we showed in tough conditions."