DORCHESTER Town manager Glenn Howes took his share of the blame for a poor start as the Magpies were beaten 3-1 by Hayes & Yeading United at the Avenue Stadium.

Defeat spelled Dorchester’s third straight loss in all competitions amid a hugely challenging October.

Having lost 3-0 to high-flying Weston on Tuesday, the Magpies came up against a Hayes side that led their division for much of last season before stumbling at the final hurdle.

There was no tripping up for the visitors in this game, though, as Hassan Jalloh’s first-half brace and Dan Wishart’s third put United out of reach despite a late consolation for Olaf Koszela.

READ MORE: Dorchester Town 1-3 Hayes & Yeading United - match report

Discussing the reasons behind the loss, Howes told Dorchester’s media team: “I’ve got an overall element of frustration in terms of how we started the game.

“We couldn’t quite get to grips with Hayes’ system and by the time we did we’re 2-0 down against a very good side.

“It’s always going to be really difficult to come back from that. I take full responsibility for that.

“I’ve set us up, we’ve changed system a couple of times which is probably unacceptable in a period of 90 minutes for the lads to expect them to adapt, so that’s something I’ll reflect on.

“But we continued to try and probe, again not full throttle, but we continued to ask some questions of Hayes – not enough questions.

“Again, it was all too intermittent in terms of how we’ve been playing previously.

“However, we still created two or three chances where we could’ve made more.”

Amid heavy rain, Jalloh’s first goal slipped from goalkeeper Harry Lee’s grasp, while United profited from a deflection into Jalloh’s path for the second.

Howes said: “You can’t hide away from how we’ve conceded goals. We obviously expect to do better.

“Harry’s been in bed all week and you could think it was a little bit unfair of us to throw him out and expect to have a full, firing Harry Lee.

“The boy’s saved us points this season, the short spell he’s been with us. I expect us to do more to protect the kid.

“The ball’s still gone across our six-yard box, we’ve still got players in and around there. Then, the second goal I feel we can be more aggressive in our defending as a team.

“You see moments and phases in the game where we have been aggressive and it’s served us really well.

“The boys have continued to try and plug away on a difficult afternoon. We had moments against Hayes last year where we pretty much capitulated at their place.

“Whereas, (Saturday) it’s 3-0 and we’ve still gone up the other end and nicked a goal. We’re still trying to create chances.

“The boys are full of personality and character. Every week we talk about learning. Good teams do learn whether you win, lose or draw.

“It’s important we break our performance down and analyse it. Our big focus is on Gosport next Saturday.”