Poor defending presented Kyle Green with a quickfire double in the opening 15 minutes and a penalty from Aaron Parfitt on the stroke of half-time killed the game off as a contest.

The Moles would have hoped to have come up against a Cove side in disarray following the midweek departure of manager Dean Thomas; however, the opposite was true as the visitors were hungrier for the ball, used it far more effectively and were more decisive in the tackle. On this evidence they could be viewed as dark horses in a title race that many believe has already been won by Guernsey.

However, vastly superior opposition compared to last week’s stroll against Croydon can not be used as an excuse to disguise just how poor Molesey were. The usually dependable Andy Graves had possibly the poorest of his 172 games in a Molesey shirt, but worryingly, there were more than half a dozen who performed worse.

Cove took the lead when Nathan Motley surrendered possession on the touchline just inside the Molesey half, the home defence was stretched and the ball found its way to Green who had the freedom of Walton Road to fire past Wester Young.

Worse was to come when a hopeful punt upfield appeared destined for Young, however, he left the ball for Kristian Webb to head back to him, Webb’s header fell short and Green nipped in to prod the visitors into a two goal lead.

The Moles threatened briefly, and Dean Thomas was unlucky to see a header from a Luke Elliott corner just escape the top corner, and then a fizzing free-kick from 25 yards ended up in the same place, with visiting keeper Stuart Harris nowhere near on both occasions.

Harris’ only real test was a routine save to keep out Tom Windsor’s drive, and the visitors added to their tally in first half stoppage time when Graves clipped the tricky Calvin Thomas in the box. Young guessed which way Parfitt would put the spot kick and would have been disappointed to see the ball squirm under his arm.

The Moles changed from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2 for the second half, with substitute Aaron Ageyman providing some much needed energy and hunger to the side, however, the Moles didn’t test Harris once in the second half, and it was the visitors who had the better openings with both Parfitt – who controlled the midfield, and Jake Baxter both coming close to extending the visitors’ lead within the opening five minutes of the half.

The withdrawal of the dangerous Patrick Kirby, who came close to adding a fourth with a terrific 30 yard volley – gave the Moles defence some respite, and Cove seemed to ease off as the game wore on and despite getting behind the home defence on several more occasions didn’t trouble Young.

Both sides had what looked like decent shouts for a penalty turned down as Lewis Ackerman appeared to be hacked down in the box and then Doug Ford bundled Baxter over but the ref, who otherwise had a fine game, waved both appeals away.

The defeat means that the Moles have taken just three points from their opening three home fixtures. They’ll hope for a vast improvement when back on their travels at Raynes Park Vale next Saturday.

By Andrew Finch