CHIPPENHAM Town boss Mark Collier admitted his side paid the price for a slow start in midweek as they lost their unbeaten start in National League South courtesy of a 1-0 defeat at Wealdstone, writes JONATHAN LEIGHFIELD.

The home side’s Max Clifford headed in Danny Green’s cross after five minutes to net the only goal of the game, although Wealdstone did come close to doubling their lead when Connor Smith hit the post after half an hour.

Collier felt his side grew into the game following a tactical tweak at the break, but chances were few and far between for the visitors and they fell to a first league defeat of the season.

Reflecting on Tuesday’s events at Grosvenor Vale, Collier said: “We didn’t start very well, and Wealdstone certainly did.

“They were on the front foot right from the get-go, really. When you concede early, that sends your game plan out of the window.

“We managed to get a foothold in the game, even though they had the lion’s share of the territory.

“We tweaked the formation at half-time and we were much better in the second half. If anyone was going to score in the second half, it was us.

“We didn’t create too many clear-cut chances, but we were certainly a threat later on.”

In front of a crowd of 837, Collier’s men tried in vain to snatch a point, but only George Rigg had a chance of note as he volleyed straight at the Wealdstone keeper.

The Bluebirds boss believes there was no shame in the result, and expects their midweek opponents to be fighting for promotion come the end of the season.

Collier said: “We were much more compact in the second half and, in the end, we were a disappointed dressing room because we thought we’d done enough to get something from the game based on our second-half performance.

“But Wealdstone are a good side and I imagine they will be right up there.

“There are some positives to take from it, but we’re disappointed to lose after such a decent second-half performance.”