WEYMOUTH manager David Oldfield admitted to being “distraught” after the Terras lost 2-1 at Bath City.

At a soaking-wet Twerton Park and facing a top six team, Weymouth made a calamitous start as Alex Fletcher and ex-Terra Cody Cooke put the Romans 2-0 up in nine minutes.

Weymouth then wrestled back control of the match with a number of wasted opportunities – a recurring theme this season – but sub Brad Ash halved the deficit after seeing his second-half penalty saved.

There was still time for Weymouth debutant keeper Ryan Sandford – signed on loan from Millwall – to make a miraculous triple save, including saving a late Cooke penalty, but Bath had done just enough to hold on.

READ MORE: Bath City 2-1 Weymouth - match report

Despite once more dominating for large spells and arguably playing their best football of the season going forward, bottom side Weymouth were consigned to a sixth Vanarama National League South defeat in eight games.

Speaking to the gathered media post-match, Oldfield said: “We’re distraught, really disappointed with the goals we conceded.

“The manner they go in is bordering on reckless and scandalous, but the players responded.

“They are a fantastic group, they worked their socks off and it’s easily arguable that we deserved to get something out of the game.

“The penalty save at the end summed us up with (three) blocks but we are full of naivety and we need to do better.

“The group is whatever the group is and there’s no complaints or arguments. We’ve got to work with what we have and we need to do much better than we are.

“We show our naivety so often that we have to make sure we grow up. That’s much easier to say than do but there is enough in the group to do much better.”

Oldfield also singled out debutant Sandford for his genuinely incredible hat-trick of saves at the death.

He said: “The action towards the end of the game where he saved the penalty and then the rebound, and perhaps the next one, was absolutely outstanding.

“He did well in the game, made a couple of good saves and joined in the group very well.

“He’s a good character. Both the keepers were very good, both on loan from Millwall and both showed their credentials and qualities.”

Oldfield also explained the move to bring in centre-back Ibrahim Bakare after a long wait for sanctioning by the Welsh FA.

The former Cardiff and Morecambe man was given 20 minutes for his debut at the end as Weymouth’s third substitute.

Oldfield said: “He’s given himself an opportunity to play. The finances are what the finances are but there is an opportunity for him to play.

“We want to try and give him some minutes. He’s a good player, a very good person and hopefully he can add to the group.

“We are an absolute collective. We lose together and, one day, we will win together.

“We still believe, we keep that perseverance and belief and our training sessions show that desire.

“We’ve got to shake off that naivety. It can be done with better, clearer, simple decisions early in games to give ourselves the platform to keep the goals out and for us to grow into games.

“We still believe that we can get those wins.”

Speaking to Echosport, Oldfield was unmoved on the possibility of a red card for a shove on Matty Burrows in Weymouth’s penalty incident.

He said: “I have to be honest, I didn’t really consider a red card at the time.

“I thought it was a foul and that Matty might’ve been able to head it in, he was pushed. I haven’t seen it back.”

On the Bath penalty, in which the otherwise outstanding Noa Boutin was adjudged to have tripped Fletcher, Oldfield added: “I have to be more pragmatic about that one.

“I don’t actually know. It’s interesting how often in games that we seem to be in control of the ball and very quickly we’re not and something else happens.

“Whether that’s fair criticism I’m not sure on this particular occasion but I thought Noa was good.

“He played well and adds thrust and energy to us. It may have been a trip, I’m not sure.”