CALNE Town chief Simon Gardner concedes that his team had no answer as they were swept aside by ‘relentless’ title-favourites Barnstaple Town last weekend.

The Lilywhites were unable to put the brakes on their irresistible opponents in North Devon, suffering a humiliating 7-0 defeat as Barnstaple took their goals tally for the season to a whopping 110.

Steve Holland and Jack Jenkins scored to leave Calne 2-0 down at half-time but the floodgates opened after the break, with Will Nicholls firing home a brace whilst Ryan Turner, Lee Francis and Tom Rossiter all notched to heap misery on Gardner’s men.

“I think Trevor Rawlings (Corsham Town manager) got it right when he spoke about ‘Barnstaple-itis’ – we had a few players missing for the game but that shouldn’t be an excuse,” said the Calne manager.

“It was a long way to go to get beat.

“We were only 2-0 down at half-time and that was through an individual mistake and a refereeing error but as soon as we let in the third, our heads went down.

“Barnstaple are a really fit side and they just keep going. They’re relentless and when our heads went down, theirs went up.

“It’s disappointing but we’ve got to learn from it and forget about it. We reacted well after the Welton game (a 7-0 loss on January 31) and we have to do the same again this time.

“Next we play Radstock, who are on a good run, and hopefully we can give them something to think about.”

Striker Matt Jenkins could make his Calne debut next weekend after making the switch from Corsham whilst Craig Kent, Mark Dolman and Jake Brand could return to the side.