DORCHESTER Town boss Steve Thompson insisted the Magpies’ 2-0 loss at Stratford Town was “a very even game”.

Goals from Edwin Ahenkorah and Will Grocutt in the space of one minute deep into the first half were enough to hand the Blues all three points.

But Thompson was left once again to rue missed chances as his side slipped to a 10th away league defeat this season.

He told Echosport: “There was nothing between the two teams, we had a terrible two minutes where we conceded two goals and they’ve come away with a 2-0 win. I thought it was a very even game.

“We had four or five chances through the game but never really dominated, it could have gone either way.

“We started well for 20 minutes but they had a very strong 15 minutes and scored two. Even though we created three chances in the first 20 minutes we couldn’t put one away and the game petered out. It became a scrappy 2-0 affair really.”

Thompson was especially irritated by the manner in which Dorchester conceded the second goal.

He said: “It’s never easy when you concede two before half-time. I’m particularly disappointed with the second one because we couldn’t clear our heads, the disappointment went into the kick-off and we went 2-0 down.”

The Magpies’ manager felt a paucity of attacking threat had been crucial against a “basic” Stratford side, but praised Luke Winsper for filling the hole at centre-back left by the unavailable Gary Bowles and the suspended Callum Rose.

He said: “It was our lack of goals that’s cost us more than anything. We came away with a 2-0 defeat against a team that was very basic.

“You always want to have your best side out but Luke stepped in and was one of our better players, we can have no complaints on that front.

“We just never really got a good tempo going. We couldn’t sustain it in either half - that’s disappointing.

“It’s not all doom and gloom because we did have a good start to the second half, but it’s maintaining that performance and dominance.”

Thompson did draw two positives from the game, in the form of Ollie Griggs and debutant Lewis Leigh-Gilchrist.

“(There were) a couple of positives because Ollie got 45 minutes and Lewis came on and played 45, although we picked up a few injuries.

“Ross Carmichael picked up a knock and so did Lewis and Tom Blair, but Emma (Tonkin, physio) has looked at them all and thinks all three should be available for Saturday.”

Thompson also confirmed that Griggs’ one-month loan to Brockenhurst has been blocked by league officials as the midfielder is under contract with the Magpies.