STEVE Riley found it hard to mask his disappointment as his error-prone AFC Totton side self-destructed in a disastrous finale at Swindon Supermarine on Saturday.

The Stags led by a Stuart Mott strike on the hour and, despite conceding a Luke Hopper equaliser with 20 minutes to go, had looked good for an Evo-Stik Southern One South & West point.

But their defensive frailties came back to haunt them at the death as Hopper struck twice more for the hosts in the 89th and 94th minutes to complete an unexpected 3-1 victory.

Bemoaning “five minutes of madness”, manager Riley said: “It was a poor game of football played on a really lively pitch. They were the better team in the first half and we were the better team in the second and I honestly thought the first team to score a goal was going to win it.

“We got that goal when Stuart Mott controlled Mike Gosney’s free kick and slotted it into the bottom corner, but then one of their lads has got his pitching wedge out and dinked the ball in behind and he (Hopper) has muscled his way through shoulder-to-shoulder and found the back of the net.

“These are things we’ve addressed and talked about, but it’s happened yet again.”

Worse was to come for Totton. With just one minute of normal time remaining, they were undone by another ball over the top. Mott was in a good position to clear it before Hopper arrived but, for reasons unknown, he chose to play it back to surprised ’keeper Pat O’Flaherty. Perhaps deceived by the bobbly pitch, the AFC Bournemouth youngster missed his kick completely, presenting Swindon’s hat-trick hero with a goal on a plate.

As the game ticked into stoppage time, Riley had his head in his hands once more as Totton’s defensive wall leaked like a colander to allow a Hopper free-kick straight through.

“There was not a lot of football going to be played and an ugly draw would have sufficed,” said Riley.

“It’s frustrating because we keep going over old ground.

“Our defending is not good enough at this level and, although the lads don’t mean to make mistakes, they’ve got to take responsibility in certain situations.

“We’ve shot ourselves in the foot again not dealing with straightforward long balls and, to add insult to injury, their third goal, the free kick, has gone in knee high into the corner our defensive wall was supposed to be protecting.

“We can’t do much about now, but we need to reflect on things and put it right at home to Mangotsfield on Saturday.”

Totton, 15th, have gone eight games without a win – a far cry from their January high of five straight victories.