WESTBURY United boss Neil Kirkpatrick criticised his players’ basic errors during their 5-2 defeat at home to Shepton Mallet, and has called for an immediate return to form when bottom club Wellington visit Meadow Lane on Saturday.

The loss was United's third of the season in Toolstation League Premier Division and just seven points have been secured from the opening six fixtures.

Ricky Hulbert notched a first-half equaliser for Westbury before Shepton pulled clear in the second half.

Joe Stradling then notched an injury-time consolation for the hosts.

Individual mistakes hurt Westbury most, and those must be cut out sooner than later if they are to place themselves back into the top half of the table.

Kirkpatrick said: “I didn’t think Shepton were that great. We gifted them an early goal before getting back into the game, and we looked comfortable.

“Basic mistakes cost us. I wasn’t happy with the whole performance.

“We’ve been inconsistent this season, it’s fair to say that – our results prove it.

“We’re not far off in every game, but we’re getting punished for every mistake we make at the moment.

“It’s a tough division. You can’t afford simple slip ups – you’ve got to be on it.”

Initially, Kirkpatrick couldn’t put a finger on any positives when asked about the club’s momentum moving forward.

A full 90 minutes for Matt Jones was identified as Kirkpatrick’s one positive of the game – in addition to Stradling’s late strike which proved Westbury didn’t lose all faith in their ability despite trailing by four goals late on.

Kirkpatrick added: “We scored at the end, so we kept going. But we’ve got to start rolling our sleeves up and start working hard for each other.

“If we do that, results will follow. You get nothing if you don’t work hard enough.”

Elsewhere, Bradford Town’s winning groove continued as they defeated Odd Down 1-0 away from home.

Matt Morris notched the Bobcats’ only goal as Wayne Thorne’s side moved onto 15 points from six games.