COACH Aaron Nell says his Swindon Wildcats side could do worse than learn from midweek conquerors Peterborough Phantoms after they fell to a 4-1 defeat at home last night.

Swindon failed to pick up a point for the first time in four English Premier League fixtures as they were comfortably swept aside by the team sitting third in the table.

After three strong performances in a row, Nell lamented his troops’ sudden and unexpected drop in standard at the Link Centre and has challenged the Cats to try to copy Peterborough’s much more dependable level of performance.

“They showed why they are in third place and we showed why we are in seventh,” said Nell.

“It is quite simple, we were flat all night and at home, we can’t be flat. It’s very frustrating to go from playing some really good games recently where we thought we’d turned a corner, to that.

“Fair play to Peterborough. This is no disrespect but they showed why they overachieve every season and why they are in cup finals and will be a good team come the play-offs.

“They come to play every night and we didn’t do that and that’s what we have got to learn from.

“We had pressure but it wasn’t sustained enough and then we switched off, and when we switched off, they went and scored.

“We have got to learn to be more consistent. They came here without their best player, with their back-up netminder in goal and they end up winning a big game. That’s why they improve every year and why they do so well.

“They are not up and down, they just turn up and play. We have never really been like that but we need to be, we can’t perform like that at home, we have to learn to be better in those situations.”

Swindon found themselves two goals in arrears in the first period as both Darius Pliskauskas and Marc Levers hit the back of the net for Phantoms, while the home side also saw their already depleted roster reduced further as Max Birbraer’s night’s work ended after just 11 minutes when he was given a game penalty for charging.

Tomasz Malasinski gave Swindon a lifeline early in the second period but the Phantoms soon restored their two-goal cushion through Ales Padelek heading into the final 20 minutes.

The Cats tried to force the game in the closing period but were punished for failing to make the most of a sustained spell of pressure when Edgars Bebris hit the back of the net to kill the game off for Peterborough.

The officials drew the ire of the Swindon supporters all night, particularly after Birbraer’s early ejection, but Nell refused to criticise their performances.

“It was the right call, he shouldn’t be hitting a guy there. It wasn’t the time or place to make a big hit,” said Nell.

“The call on Max was right. There were a few others I was a bit annoyed at but the officlas didn’t have the worst game ever, and I’m sure there were some that Peterborough weren’t happy with either.

“The officials didn’t affect the game and the big call, they got right.”