PHIL Brown faces an uphill task if he is to guide Swindon Town into the League Two play-off places before the end of the season after Yeovil Town snatched a late equaliser to claim a 2-2 draw at the Energy Check County Ground tonight.

Alex Fisher’s strike from inside Swindon’s penalty area denied Brown’s men a much-needed win on a night where Matt Taylor bagged a brace.

Town took the lead early on when Taylor’s flick from Kaiyne Woolery’s cross found the back of the net before Yeovil equalised midway through the second half.

Taylor re-established Town’s lead soon afterwards but hopes of Brown earning his first three points at the County Ground were dashed when Fisher struck with a minute to go.

The result means Swindon are now a point behind seventh-placed Coventry City, who have a game in hand, and remain ninth in the table after Mansfield Town earned a draw at Stevenage.

Brown said: “We put ourselves in a great position but couldn’t see the game out.

“We played some good stuff in the first half, I thought. Probably the best I’ve seen up until half-time.

“We knew Yeovil would come out of the traps, 1-0 is never a safe score.

“But it’s the manner we’ve lost the two points.”

Yeovil were restricted to few chances in a positive first half for Brown’s men.

Lewis Wing went closest for the visitors when his ferocious drive from 25 yards forced Stuart Moore into making an acrobatic save.

Otherwise, Yeovil struggled to break into Town’s area.

But Brown pinpointed a deep back four as his side’s fault in allowing Yeovil to score their second goal, adding the situation must be addressed.

He said: “They decided to throw a centre half up and we had to step up, I thought we went backwards.

“That was the only fault of the team’s performance.

“Ben (Purkiss) and Ryan (McGivern) both went backwards. When you do that, you start getting deeper and defending your goal closer.

“It’s the wrong way to defend. Little flicks can drop to anybody, as they did for the equalising goal.

“We should’ve had the presence of mind to keep Yeovil out of the penalty box with a higher line.

“But it wasn’t to be.”

Despite dropping more points, Brown’s men are now unbeaten in four games.

The 58-year-old admitted his side’s unbeaten record is the only positive he can take from recent results as Town’s grasp on a possible play-off spot got weaker.

Brown said: “Is there a difference between the team now and when I arrived? I think so.

“I think we’re a lot more organised. We have stronger character, we seem to be getting something from a game regardless.

“But that ability to put the ball in the back of the net, which was highlighted by Matt Taylor, wasn’t there.

“We missed some good opportunities to put the ball in.”