MANAGER Richie Wellens believed a series of poor decisions in the final third cost his team dear as Swindon Town fell 3-1 at home to Charlton Athletic in the first round of the League Cup on Saturday.

Goals from Macauley Bonne, Charlie Barker and Chuks Aneke sealed Town’s fate at the County Ground and rendered a fantastic individual equaliser from Jonny Smith worthless as the Addicks progressed to round two.

Meanwhile, defeat saw Wellens stretch his winless run in cup competitions to seven defeats from seven games as boss of Swindon.

Reflecting on his team’s performance overall, Wellens insisted there were plenty of positives to take.

He said: “I think in the first half, there were loads and loads of good things.

“We got in numerous good positions and I think we were the better team in the first half – probably for the first 60 minutes, we were the better team.

“We just made bad decisions in the final third.

“Sometimes as a striker or as a winger, it’s more difficult to get up to speed in terms of the sharpness than it is for the defenders and midfield players.”

Wellens had previously stated that the cup first round tie would be used as his team’s final pre-season friendly before the league campaign kicks off at home to Rochdale on Saturday September 12.

After losing Jordan Lyden to injury early into the second half, the Mancunian felt the final 20 minutes was where his team really began to flounder.

Reacting to watching his team concede twice late on, Wellens said: “At times we were very good. But when you look at the goals we conceded, the first goal was really poor.

“The second goal from a set play, when you’re playing against someone who is more often than not going to win it in the air, you’ve got to make sure you’re in a good position to win the second ball and we weren’t.

“And then obviously the last one is just, we’re chasing the game, and it got stretched in the last twenty minutes – I think that’s where we struggled.

“But I think the real negative of the day is Jordan Lyden coming off after injuring his hamstring.

“Other than that there were some positives, but obviously you don’t want to lose at home 3-1 first game of the season.”