MELKSHAM Town suffered their first Southern League Division One South loss of the season at Blackfield & Langley on Saturday, going down 3-2 to end the club’s seven-game unbeaten league run.

Newly-promoted Town have raised an eyebrow or two at the start of their first season in the fourth tier of non-league football, but boss Kieran Baggs admits his side were below-par against Glenn Howes’ men.

Jon Davies opened the scoring for Melksham with only 11 minutes on the board before the hosts equalised 10 minutes later.

A missed penalty while Melksham were in the ascendency proved a turning point, though, as Blackfield quickly fired themselves into a two-goal lead with less than 30 minutes of play left.

While Davies found the back of the net again, the hosts held on to drop Baggs’ troops out of the play-off frame.

The Melksham boss had little to complain about following the defeat though as Baggs highlighted the pride he has felt during his side’s impressive run.

He said: “Our last league defeat was away at Street last season. And other than our cup loss against opposition that was a division higher, we haven’t had a defeat.

“We want to get last weekend out of our minds and get back up to the standards they we have set for ourselves.

“Looking at the league table, sides you would look at for a top half finish that we’ve played – Cinderford, Evesham, Winchester – are now done and dusted.

“We can look forward and look to pick up more points. This is a bonus season for us, any cup run or promotion place is an added bonus.

“If not, we’re looking to solidify our position in the league.”

With a key FA Trophy second round tie against FA Vase holders Thatcham Town awaiting Melksham this weekend, Baggs is keen to see his men earn revenge over the Berkshire outfit, who last year dumped the infiLED Arena outfit out of the Vase at the quarter final stage.

Danny Robinson’s men will prove no pushovers for Melksham, and Baggs is looking for a consistent 90 minutes to make a welcome return to his side’s game.

Baggs said: “It’s important we pick ourselves up for the FA Trophy game and look to put things right.”