SWINDON Supermarine were left ruing a poor start against Stratford Town as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat.

Dave Webb’s men were left in the starting blocks at the Webb’s Wood Stadium as the Warwickshire visitors opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Tyrone Fagan was allowed to run through and net.

Stratford doubled the lead four minutes later through Robert Thompson-Brown and it was a position that the Marine could not recover from.

“We started very poorly and we were 2-0 down after eight minutes against the team who are second in the league and have a very good defensive record. You are always going to struggle after that.

“When we came in at half-time a few things were said and we brought on Scott Bevan at left-back and we were a lot better.

“We can’t start like that. We began well at Tiverton on Saturday and looked to play the same way, but we just weren’t good enough in the first half.”

The introduction of Bevan and a change in formation saw a much-improved performance from the South Marston men, but with three games remaining in Southern League Division One South and West, Webb says that several of his squad are playing for their futures.

“We have got Wimborne and two teams (Didcot and Cinderford) in and around the play-offs to come to us before the end of the season,” Webb said.

“The aim is get to as many points as we can, but also we are starting to look at the players we want to try and keep at the club.

“Players are playing for their future here. We have got to decide which direction we want to go in next season and build a squad from that.

“We have got to regroup from this season - it has been a tough one - freshen up the squad and try and bring in some quality players.”

Meanwhile, Chippenham Town were unable to make it three wins in a row and had to to settle for a draw in their Premier Division derby at struggling Frome Town.