MELKSHAM Town manager Kieran Baggs felt the scoreline was harsh on his players as they crashed out of the Wiltshire Senior Cup at the quarter-final stage with a 4-1 defeat away to Swindon Supermarine on Tuesday, writes JONATHAN LEIGHFIELD.

Meanwhile, Chippenham Town also exited the competition at the hands of Salisbury, with Mark Collier’s troops losing 1-0 courtesy of a Danny Young strike.

On a disappointing night for the two west Wiltshire outfits, Melksham made a positive start at the Webbswood Stadium, quickly restoring parity through a well-taken half-volley from Neikell Plumber after Sayeed Ibrahim had shanked into his own net early on.

Melksham were the brighter of the two sides in the first period, springing regular counter-attacks on Marine. Reece Rusher had a volley cleared off the line as Town continued to pile on the pressure.

But a clinical strike from Marine’s Michael Hopkins, shortly before half-time, drained the energy from the visitors and two further second-half goals sealed Melksham’s fate.

Baggs rued his side’s cruel luck and felt on a different night his players could have sprung a surprise, but did concede the difference in quality showed in the end.

He said: “Anyone who came to the game would have seen the goals, and we feel it’s harsh to come away losing 4-1.

“If we went in at the break level, then I think we would have been able to sustain the game a little bit longer.

“They’ve scored with a freak own goal and we’ve played really well for 15 or 20 minutes, getting ourselves back in the game with a great strike from Neikell (Plumber).

“Over the course of the 90 minutes, they were the bigger threat and you could tell they played a league higher, but when you’ve got four or five lads missing of the calibre of Jon Davies and Nuno Felix, you’re always going to struggle to replace them.

“On another night, the two deflected goals and the 30-yarder might stay out, so I feel the scoreline it is a little bit harsh, but at the same time, it is a reality check for us.

“The Wiltshire Senior Cup is a great competition and we wanted to stay in it and make it through to the semi-finals, but the priority is the league campaign, so we must make sure we’re ready for the game against Thatcham on Saturday.”