DAVE Webb concedes Swindon Supermarine have all but sealed their own fate in the race to qualify for the Southern League Division One South & West play-offs this season by falling 1-0 at home to lowly Paulton Rovers on Saturday.

The defeat sees Marine drop down to seventh in the table and they are now six points adrift of Salisbury, who occupy the final play-off place in fifth, with five games remaining.

Marine arrived at the Webbswood Stadium keen to complete an unbeaten March, with only the midweek draw away at fellow promotion hopefuls Evesham United blotting that 100 per cent record over the previous six games this month.

However, Webb’s side were up against it after just 16 minutes when they were reduced to 10 men following a straight red card for Callum Parsons.

The hosts were unable to raise their game after that and they further compounded their own problems with five minutes to go when Ashley Taylor headed the decisive goal into his own net.

Webb was left bitterly disappointed at how little fight his troops offered up in defeat and admits Marine’s race is almost certainly run as far as finishing in the top five is concerned.

“It was a must-win game. We have had a fantastic March by staying beaten, so to lose at home against a side that are 16th in the table is hard to take,” said Webb.

“We clearly should have won the game but we haven’t helped ourselves as a straight red card after 20 minutes makes it difficult.

“Then we have been completely flat and lacklustre and devoid of ideas all afternoon. We have been so good recently and then we can be so bad on Saturday – and collectively bad as well.

“I thought all those days were behind us given our form of late but on Saturday we were back to our very worst and if we had any aspirations of reaching the play-offs, they have virtually disappeared.

“I am very, very disappointed. I find it hard to take when we can reach the highs that we have reached in recent weeks and then we put in a performance like that in front of our own supporters, in front of our committee and in front of our chairman.

“With Evesham winning on Saturday, the play-offs are going to be a really, really difficult ask now.”

The pivotal moment arrived in the opening skirmishes, with Marine man Parsons given his marching orders for a crunching challenge on Paulton’s Matt Benham and Webb had no complaints about the referee’s decision to brandish a red card so early in the game.

He said: “We have made it virtually impossible for ourselves by losing a player after 20 minutes. I have no complaints at all – it was definitely a red card, 100 per cent.”