ON a day when Jonny Denton was making his 100th appearance for the club, Ascot United saw their Hellenic League Premier Division title hopes dented by Flackwell Heath.

A 3-1 defeat at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday stopped the Yellamen returning to the top of the table.

Instead, they stay in fourth place, two points behind leaders Brimscombe & Thrupp and having played more games than the sides above them.

They found themselves trailing from the 12th minute when Adam Thomas scored directly from a corner and a little over 10 minutes later Leius Sinclair was on hand to tap home a second goal after Sodike Anyadike-Thompson's effort had come back off keeper Lee Allen.

Between those goals, Thomas struck the crossbar with a wind-assisted effort from distance, and although Ascot improved, only Lamin Sankoh’s scooped effort which sailed well over and Harry Laflin’s header were anywhere close to hauling United back into the game.

The second half brought an improvement from the hosts and it took them only eight minutes to halve their deficit when Laflin's cross from the right picked out Luqman Kassim, who swivelled before firing past keeper Aaron Watkins.

When Allen pulled off a top-drawer save from Thomas' penalty awarded for handball, it looked as if it could be Ascot's day, but two minutes later, in the 74th minute, the visitors added a third goal when substitute Marcus Oshiro-Lumb curled a brilliant shot over Allen into the top-right corner.

The Heathens, beaten only once in 16 games and with a side whose average age is 22, went close to adding a late fourth goal through Thomas and Sinclair.

Before the game, Ascot made a presentation to mark Denton's century of appearances.

Manager Jamie Tompkins praised the player, saying: "He epitomises everything we stand for at the club, loyalty, commitment and application. He's also a very decent person."

Ascot are away to the side immediately above them in the table, Brackley Town Saints, this Saturday before hosting Division Two East high fliers Langley in the third round of the Perpetua Press Floodlight Cup next Tuesday evening.