DORCHESTER Town boss Glenn Howes lamented the Magpies’ inconsistency this season following a 3-1 loss to struggling Merthyr Town at the Avenue Stadium.

Going into the game, Merthyr were bottom having recorded just two wins in the Pitching In Southern League Premier South campaign.

But the Welshmen lifted themselves above Wimborne with a deserved victory, opening up a 3-0 lead in an hour over Dorchester.

Curtis Jemmett-Hutson’s penalty gave the Martyrs a 1-0 half-time lead after a host of missed Magpies chances, including Yemi Odubade hitting the bar.

Eliot Richards’ stunning 30-yard free-kick and a third goal from Kieran Evans put the visitors, who also play home games on a 3G surface, firmly in control.

READ MORE: Dorchester Town 1-3 Merthyr Town - match report

Olaf Koszela scored what proved to be nothing more than a consolation for Dorchester, who had beaten Swindon Supermarine 2-1 a week previous.

And Howes highlighted the topsy-turvy nature of Dorchester’s results as the “story of our season”.

He told Dorchester’s media team: “It’s just overall disappointment. Not just the result but the performance.

“We have to have our heads held high and take responsibility. Yes, we created chances throughout but generally it’s below what we expect from a Dorchester performance in all areas.

“That’s the story of our season. Inconsistency is the reason we are where we are.

“We had an opportunity to build back-to-back wins. Generally we’re better at home than we are away, so it is a massive missed opportunity.

“We were full of confidence, buoyant in our approach. Perhaps that was one lapse in our play that we expected to turn up and grab the points.”

Two contentious moments appeared to swing the momentum of the game in the first half.

Firstly, Ismail Yakubu was only booked for hauling down Odubade when he appeared to be last man.

Tom Soares then gave away the penalty from which Merthyr opened the scoring.

Howes said: “I’m not going to use them as excuses for our performances, not one bit.

“But if you want to break them down, the centre-half had no cover. So, in our opinion, perhaps the lad should’ve had a red card.

“The penalty was unfortunate. It’s taken a deflection and the lad’s the wrong side of Soares and it’s a penalty.

“Then they crack a free-kick in from 30 yards and before you blink you’re 2-0 down. That’s football.

“You have to take a deep breath, have the resilience and ability to overcome that.

“If our performance did that, I’d be OK with it, but I don’t think it did. I’m not even going to look for that as an excuse.”