CHIPPENHAM Town boss Mark Collier witnessed an improvement in his side’s performance against Dulwich Hamlet in their latest National League South contest on Saturday, despite slipping to a 2-0 defeat.

The Bluebirds kept the score level heading into half-time, but a second-half brace from former Football League player Dipo Akinyemi guided the hosts to a fourth league victory this season.

A fifth loss from 11 games means Collier’s troops slip to 10th in the table having secured 18 points to date – leaving them level on points with play-off occupants Wealdstone.

Reacting to the loss, Collier admitted the home side’s opening goal gifted them valuable momentum – which they consequently used to secure the three points.

“We played better on Saturday than we did in our two games in the FA Cup against Swindon Supermarine and our game against Gloucester City,” said Collier.

“We’re at a level where you get punished for the mistakes you make, and that’s what happened.

“We conceded a corner and from that we didn’t mark properly after quite a dominant first half where we created a couple of good chances but didn’t take them – we played some decent football.

“But a goal in a football match can change things and they managed to get that – their tails were up and we were fighting to get back in the game.”

Despite the defeat, the Chippenham boss was pleased that heads within the squad did not drop after conceding their second goal – which ultimately took the game away from the Bluebirds.

A home tie against mid-table Dartford in a fortnight’s time provides Chippenham’s next league challenge following Saturday’s FA Cup fixture against either Hendon FC or Lancing.

The fixture is subject to confirmation though after Hendon were forced to switch their second qualifying round tie to tomorrow night following the withdrawal of Phoenix Sports – a draw in that fixture will mean the replay will take place on Saturday, leaving Chippenham without a game.

Despite the situation, Collier insists his men can enter the game with plenty of positives on their back despite Saturday’s loss.

He said: “Even after we conceded the second we had chances to get back into the game but we failed to take them.

“It’s disappointing, but we can take a lot of positives from the way we played against a team that have hit a run of form.”