Phil Parkinson was left to rue what might have been after two first-half set-piece goals condemned Altrincham to a fourth straight league defeat on an emotional night at The J.Davidson Stadium.

Tuesday's visit of Bromley was Alty's first home game since the death of their legendary former skipper and manager John King, and around 30 members of his family attended to join in a minute's applause and hear a pre-match tribute from co-chairman Bill Waterson.

The players wore black armbands but couldn't quite deliver a result to fit the occasion, as Alty fought back in the second half with a goal from Tyrese Sinclair but couldn't find an equaliser.

It was a frustrating outcome for Alty after they spurned an early opportunity when Jordan Hulme found himself clean through but was denied by the Bromley keeper.

"I thought we were superb in the opening 10 minutes, and if Jordan had finished off that chance after a 20-pass move, it could have been a different story," said Alty boss Parkinson, whose side are home to Woking on Saturday.

"The bare minimum we deserved was a point, but you don't always get what you deserve. You've got to take it, and that means being more clinical and cut-throat at both ends of the pitch."

He added: "We should have defended much better for their first goal. It was really poor to allow their player a free header when the free-kick came in, and we know mistakes like that have to be cut out.

"But I was pleased with the performance. That looked like an Alty team, and the big positive I will take from the night is that the front line looked how it should and the lads who came on made a real impact.

"I'm not happy with the result, but we've got to be real about what we are going through at the moment.

"There has been so much change, yet we didn't look at all disjointed.

"When you can see the green shoots, I'm quite content we will get there."