DESPITE his team failing to halt Tottenham Hotspur’s ascent to the top of the FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division, Swindon Town Ladies manager Steve Robertson reckons that his team took a major step forward this afternoon.

Town refused to wilt to their promotion-chasing opponents up until half-time but a second-half blitz saw Robertson’s side succumb to a 4-0 defeat, with Bianca Baptise, Renee Hector, Nikita Whinnett and Kelly Blanchflower all netting.

Despite slipping to a heavy reverse at Barrington Park, the Swindon chief identified plenty of reasons for positivity and believes that his side showed the capability they’ll require if they’re to enjoy the remainder of their campaign in the third tier of women’s football in England.

“I think 4-0 flattered them. It was 0-0 at half-time and they were frustrated and moaning at the referee, and we did that to them,” said Robertson.

“We’d probably had the best chance of the game right before they scored but they had a 10 or 15-minute period where they had four chances and scored four goals.

“It’s a disappointing result but a positive performance from us.

“We needed a response after the Portsmouth game (a 5-0 loss on November 13) and I think that we’ve found the way that we want to play from now on.

“We got the balance right – we knew what we had to do when we lost the ball and we had a threat when we had possession of the ball.

“In the past, we’ve sat off teams a bit and just soaked things up for most of the game.

“We were against a side that are going for promotion out of this league and it’s a game that we probably weren’t expecting to win.

“So the result may not look great but I’m happy with the performance and hopefully, we can build on the way that we played.”

Town are next in action when they travel to Southampton in the first round proper of the Women’s FA Cup next weekend.