CARL Davies hit the nail on the head when saying, “We had enough chances to have won three games,” writes Dave Wright.

That was the Bracknell Town player-manager’s reaction after seeing his side squander close to 20 chances at Molesey on Saturday.

Yet the visitors still emerged victorious with a Liam Ferdinand brace giving them a 2-1 victory in their first away Bostik League fixture of the season.

The Robins, however, may not get away with it every week, particularly when up against stronger sides than the Moles.

But maximum points from two games – only matched by Hanwell and Northwood – remains a promising start and the team is bound to improve as they adjust to their new league.

The Robins made a change to the side which had defeated Waltham Abbey with a solitary Ferdinand goal a week earlier, with new signing Harrison Bayley taking over from Jamie McClurg, who stayed at home after his wife had given birth last Thursday.

Bayley becomes the fourth player to join from FA Vase winners and Hellenic League champions Thatcham, who have now lost the bulk of last season’s team.

“He did a great job in the centre of the park, which was pleasing to see,” said player-manager Davies.

Bayley’s arrival, along with another new signing in former Oxford United Academy defender Dan Carr, strengthens the squad even further.

“The quality on the bench is really good. It’s pleasing to have those sort of players to call on, and it also shows how far we have come this season,” commented Davies, although keeping all the substitutes happy could eventually prove a problem in the weeks ahead.

There were a few early scares for the Robins on Saturday, seeing one Molesey effort strike the crossbar and another headed wide from a good position.

But the Robins dominated the rest of the half with a virtually unrelenting series of attacks, only to see chance after chance go begging.

When they did score after 24 minutes it came more from a cross than a shot. Ferdinand, wide on the right, lofted a high ball towards the far post. It hung in the air, catching the breeze, before dropping over the keeper into the far corner of the net.

A minute later he was only inches away from doubling his total and soon afterwards another opportunity was wasted, while Gavin James fired wide.

Joe Grant offered Ferdinand a further chance, but a Moles defender managed to get the ball away.

On another day, Town would have gone in at half-time with a four or five-goal lead. But they did get a second four minutes into the second half when, following a long clearance from keeper Mark Scott, Ferdinand seized his chance to stroke the ball low past Sam Johnson-Freeman.

Scott was then called into action, turning the ball away for a corner, but on 57 minutes he conceded his first league goal of the season and will be disappointed with it. He failed to cut out a long cross from the left and Tayo Oyebola was left with a simple chance of firing the ball into an empty net.

Seb Bowerman was unlucky not to restore Bracknell’s two-goal advantage, seeing one effort scrape the outside of the post and another come back off the underside of the crossbar.

At the other end, there was a let-off for Town when their defence got into a muddle, allowing Josh Adusei to find the back of the net, but he was correctly ruled offside.

Adusei tried his luck again, this time from nearly 40 yards, but Scott dealt with it at the expense of a corner and the keeper made an even better save to deny substitute Manny Quarishie Bracknell sub Adam Cornell had a chance with his first touch, heading into Johnson-Freeman’s arms, and Ferdinand looked certain to score, only for a defender to throw himself across to block the ball just short of the line.

The Robins striker did get the ball into the net in stoppage time, but the assistant’s flag stopped any celebration. However, he still proved the match-winner for the second week running.