MARK Collier reckons the scoreline flattered high-flying St Neots Town after his Chippenham Town side slipped to a 3-0 defeat in their penultimate game of the season.

Chippenham impressed in the first half at the Rowley Park Stadium but fell behind to Lee Clarke’s header just before the interval.

Fifth-placed St Neots doubled their lead early in the second half from the penalty spot, with visiting stopper Kent Kauppinen unlucky not to keep out Drew Roberts’ effort.

Collier then rang the changes but his hopes of a comeback were over when Jordan Roberts was forced off injured, with Luis Vieira inflicting more misery on the 10 men of the Bluebirds before the final whistle.

Collier said “We played quite well in the first half and created a couple of chances.

“We knew it was going to be tight. They did have quite a lot of possession and were fairly direct but we were disappointed to go in 1-0 down.

“They managed to get a free header in the six-yard box. That was disappointing as it changes the half-time team-talk.

“We then gave away a penalty and at 2-0 down we made three subs to try to get something back from the game.

“In the last 15 minutes we were down to 10 men as Jordan Roberts had to come off having been clattered in a tackle and they hit us on the break and got a third goal.

“When you are at the top you get the little breaks. We came up a bit short but we’ll take some positives in that we were competitive for large parts of the game.

“We’re disappointed that we haven’t got something out of the game and it doesn’t really feel like a 3-0 defeat. Overall that was a bit harsh on us.”

Chippenham bring the curtain down on their campaign next Saturday when they entertain mid-table side Bideford at Hardenhuish Park.

Collier says the Bluebirds will not be short of motivation for that game as they look to avenge a 5-0 loss in Devon back in December.

Although Collier was unsure if the injury would keep Roberts out, he will miss the game anyway through suspension having collected a 10th booking.

“Jordan was our outstanding player against St Neots so it was a bit harsh on him to have to come off injured,” said Collier.

“But he’s got 10 cautions so he’ll serve a one-match ban now. He has come into some good form and we’ll miss him.

“Every team will want to win their last game but we had a very poor performance away at Bideford earlier on in the season and I’ve reminded the players of that.

“Hopefully we can finish the season on a high.”