SWINDON Town boss Mark Cooper was left frustrated after his side scored twice but failed to claim the win, going down 3-2 to Rochdale last night.

Anton Rodgers, making his first league start of the season, and Michael Smith were both on the score-sheet for the home-side but poor defending let a Rochdale side walk away with all three points.

Matty Lund equalised for the visitors shortly after the break before Peter Vicenti put Dale in front and the travelling side snatched the win when substitute Bastien Hery netted two minutes into stoppage time, inflicting Swindon’s first loss in 10 games.

Cooper was pleased by his side’s overall display, as Rochdale set their stall out to put men behind the ball and only press Swindon in possession once they crossed halfway, a tactic that it going to become more common for this young Swindon side to combat.

Nathan Byrne, Wes Foderingham and Yaser Kasim all came in for praise from the Town boss but he could not hide his disappointment at the sloppy defending from set pieces that let Rochdale, who had never previously beaten Town, claim the win.

“If you score two goals at home you should win,” said the County Ground boss.

“You saw what Rochdale did they came and put the men behind the ball and made it difficult, that is what teams are going to do.

“I felt we did enough to score enough goals to win a game of football, but if you concede goals like that and you concede three goals at home (you can’t win).

“The goals that we conceded two are corners, a 17 yard cross into the box and a free header.

“Now I know if I was playing tonight that man wouldn’t have got a free header because I concentrate and back myself that he is not going to get the better of me, and that is what it comes down to that desire not to be beaten by your man to the ball.

“That is something that the younger players need to be able to do because no matter what level of football you are going to play, whether it is the Premier League or the Ryman Premier League, at some point the ball is going to come into the box and you have to be able to defend it, and you have to be able to head it, and you have to get a cut and broken nose now and again, and that is what we need to improve on.”

That result has now left Swindon sitting outside the play-off places in seventh a point behind Sheffield United.