PHIL Simkin was left dumbfounded by his side’s wastefulness in front of goal in their Skrill South defeat to Staines Town on Saturday.

The Magpies’ manager was pleased with team’s performance in general and thrilled to see captain Mark Jermyn play a full game despite missing virtually all of pre-season through injury.

However, he wasn’t so happy with Dorchester’s inability to make their chances count, something they paid for when Louie Theophanous netted the winner from the penalty spot on 66 minutes.

The county town outfit have the opportunity to make amends for their opening day setback when they host Weston-super-Mare at the Avenue tomorrow night (7.45pm).

But one man who won’t be involved is Jake Smeeton after Simkin (pictured above) revealed the defender fractured a toe in training last week and is expected to be out for a couple of weeks.

Trialists Jake Ramday and Lewy Blackmore have been signed on non-contract terms to help boost the squad but Smeeton’s absence is a big blow for Simkin who is also currently without injured defenders Calvin Brooks and Harry Bell.

However, it’s at the other end of the pitch that was a cause for concern on Saturday.

“We dominated the game from start to finish,” he said. “We created lots of chances but we just couldn’t put any of them away.

“It was a very good performance away from home but you can’t miss that many chances and expect to get a result.

“Staines were a decent side but they didn’t cause us many problems and after the first 10 minutes we dominated the game and passed the ball well on a first-class playing surface.

“Jamie Beasley played well and put in a lot of good crosses, and Mark Jermyn looked like he had never been away.

“But several people found themselves in good positions and they couldn’t find the back of the net, which was frustrating.”

Brandon Goodship, on loan at the Magpies from Bournemouth, made his debut as a second-half substitute after Dorchester keeper Tim Sandercombe had given away the spot kick from which Theophanous scored.

Commenting on Smeeton’s injury, Simkin added: “We were practicing set pieces in training on Thursday night and Jake came down on his toe.

“He’s going to be out for a couple of weeks and there’s not much we can do about it.

“We don’t seem to be having much luck at the moment.”