A FAILURE to stem first-half pressure proved Dorchester Town’s downfall in their 3-1 BetVictor Southern Premier South loss at Farnborough, manager Callum Brooks admitted.

Farnborough began brightly and tested Magpies’ goalkeeper Nick Hutchings twice before Seth Owens finally broke the deadlock in the 12th minute.

Charlie Davis saw an effort cleared off the line before Reggie Young doubled the Yellows’ lead before the break.

Tom Bath was denied seconds before Boro’s third as Connor Cullen made it 3-0.

It took 87 minutes for Dorchester to score as Bath swept home a fine cross from sub Eder Batista as the Magpies’ league record plummeted to one win from their last 12 games.

Brooks told Echosport: “In hindsight, the way we started we failed to match their intensity and physicality.

“We couldn’t break the sustained pressure they put us under.

“Looking back, that cost us the game.

“We couldn’t claw our way back from there. In our position, the last thing we want to be doing is giving teams starts or conceding early in games.

“They’d overpowered us so you could almost see it coming, which was a shame as we had a mountain to climb.”

He added: “Within that, at times we’ve played some decent stuff and we’ve had three good chances as we’ve come out for the second half.

“If you get it to 2-1 I always thought we could have turned the situation around, but we get sucker punched.

“It really does sound like I’m repeating myself, because I am. This description could have fitted a lot of our games this year.”

Last week, Brooks questioned his players’ desire and attitude, but had no such complaints against Boro.

“I don’t think there was any lack of effort,” he said. “There was a lack of quality at times and any team which is in the position we’re in is going to be lacking a bit of confidence.

“It was just failing to do certain things within the game well enough. The only thing that will change that is winning a game of football.

“If we win, the world will seem a better place and we can move forward from there. But we can’t hide behind that. We need to win a game, it’s been too long.”

Dorchester host Brooks' former club Hamworthy United in the Dorset Senior Cup tomorrow (7.45pm).