Boston United's four-game unbeaten run in the Unibond Premier Division came to an end with a 1-0 defeat by Eastwood Town on Friday.
Jon Froggatt hit the bar and Ollie Ryan twice went close for the Pilgrims in the first half before Ian Holmes headed the Badgers' winner on the hour.
Boston manager Steve Welsh told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "The game was there to be won but we missed our chances.
"But [Eastwood] are flying high so from that point of view I'm optimistic."
Welsh felt that a poor start to the second half led to Boston's downfall.
He said: "We had a good go at them in the first half, but at the start of the second half we just didn't come out of the blocks.
"Although we had a fair bit of the ball we didn't create anything like the chances we had in the first half."
In the Unibond First Division South, Paul Lister's equaliser in added time earned Grantham Town a share of the spoils as their derby match against Stamford ended in a 3-3 draw at the Meres.
The Daniels led three times through Tyrone Kirk, Dan Cotton and a Danny Brooks own goal, only for the Gingerbreads to hit back each time through Danny Hargreaves, Brooks and Lister.
In the division's other Lincolnshire derby, Sean Cann's first-half goal proved decisive as Lincoln United won 1-0 at Spalding United.
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