DORCHESTER Town manager Leigh Robinson believes the mistake leading to Weston-super-Mare’s equaliser was the “turning point” in a 3-1 loss.

Robinson’s men suffered their first opening day defeat since 2018 as the Seagulls claimed all three points from their Pitching In Southern Premier South clash.

Dorchester had been in control when Rubin Wilson touched home following Tom Blair’s sizzling run on the right.

Jamie Waite capitalised on keeper Will Buse’s slack pass out to equalise before sub Chris Knowles and Scott Laird scored either side of half-time.

Reflecting on the defensive error which led to Waite’s goal, Robinson labelled the incident “frustrating”.

“No question about it, the best team won,” he told Echosport. “We knew we were big underdogs and they were a quality side.

“It’s just frustrating. We went 1-0 up and, up until the equaliser, defensively we looked pretty good.

“Weston didn’t create much until we gifted them the first goal. You look back at it now and the equaliser was the turning point in the game.

“We felt if we stayed in the game until 65, 70 minutes then we’re in with a chance.

“A side as good as Weston if they get two goals up and then we have to go and chase it, it’s very difficult because they’re so good at keeping possession.”

Robinson also signalled an intent to rid his players of costly individual mistakes.

He said: “There were some good signs in the first half, defensively we did look better, but same old if you look back at least season.

“Individual errors have cost us and, as a manager, it’s the most frustrating thing.

“You can do all the planning, training, coaching and team talks you want but if you make individual errors invariably you lose games.

“We’ve made three individual errors with the first goal and then conceding from two set-pieces where someone’s lost their man. Against a side like Weston you can’t afford to do that.

“The spirit’s good but our boys looked real nervy on the ball. We weren’t tidy enough and hopefully let’s put that down to opening day nerves.

“That’s something we’ve got to fix in the coming weeks, otherwise it’s going to be very tough to beat sides as good as that.”

In pre-season Robinson has targeted ball retention and extra creativity up front as areas for improvement.

Quizzed on whether he saw progress in those departments on Saturday, he said: “No, unfortunately not.

“I thought the passing from us – one to 11 – wasn’t good enough. We did look nervy with all sorts of five, 10-yard passes going astray.

“Our decision making on the ball wasn’t fantastic but I can only put that down to first-day nerves.

“We have played better than that in pre-season. We aren’t going to play a team as good as Weston every week, granted.

“Realistically, if we played one of the lesser-fancied teams on paper, on the ball would we have had enough? Probably not.

“It’s something we’ve urgently got to address going forward.”

Dorchester visit Christchurch in the FA Cup first qualifying round tomorrow (7.45pm).

Merthyr, meanwhile, have requested to hibernate for this Southern Premier South season only due to the coronavirus pandemic.