FIRST team coach Ross Embleton was perturbed to see Swindon Town have their fingers burned as they slipped to defeat at Bristol Rovers in the Central League this afternoon.

Town’s starting line-up for their 10th development fixture of the season wouldn’t have included a single academy product but Anton Rodgers pulled out before kick-off at the Cribbs Sports and Social Club – Rovers’ training ground – with a tight back and had to be replaced by Scott Twine.

Swindon starved their opponents of the ball as they dominated possession for long spells, particularly in the first half, but eventually suffered late heartbreak as they were edged out 3-2.

“Like a lot of games this season, both in this league and in first-team games, there was a pattern where we looked like a good football team and created a lot of chances,” said Embleton.

“But we failed to convert them and then mistakes or lapses of concentration let us down.

“It can be very, very frustrating, to be honest.

“I thought the performance was a good one for lengthy periods, particularly in the first half, and we looked very, very comfortable, but failing to convert opportunities means that we get beat.

“If there are similar patterns and you’re not taking opportunities when you could go two, three or four goals up, then it makes it very difficult, and then what happens is pressure starts to creep in at the other end of the pitch.

“It is frustrating but we’ve got to keep on trying to create those chances because we’re facing real problems when we’re not creating those opportunities.

“It’s important to keep putting people in front of goal and somebody steps up to start putting them away to try and turn our fortunes around.”