Basingstoke Town manager Dan Brownlie warned against his team’s recent poor run of results being “overdramatised” ahead of their FA Trophy clash with Kidlington on Saturday.

Brownlie’s side fell to a third successive Southern League Premier South defeat on Tuesday evening as they were beaten 3-1 by high-flying Merthyr Town at Winklebury Football Complex.

Bradley Wilson had given Basingstoke the lead on 32-minutes but second half goals from Thomas Handley, Frazer Thomas and Ricard Rees handed all three points to the visitors from Wales.

Both sides had a goal ruled out for offside on the night while the hosts also had a penalty appeal turned down with the score at 2-1.

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For newly promoted Basingstoke, the result follows defeats to rivals Winchester (2-1) and Hendon (2-0) in recent weeks, with the Hendon result marking the first time since March that Town have failed to find the net in a competitive fixture.

Niko Muir-Merchant grabbed a brace for the Londoners on Saturday, in a game that the Basingstoke boss cited the lack of quality in key moments as the main reason behind his side’s undoing.

“If you dissect the game into ten minute chunks over a 90-minute period, I think we’ve been the better side for five of them at least,” said Brownlie after the game.

“The quality in the defining moments was non-existent. You need to play for 90 minutes. You don’t always need to play well but you need to be effective.

“And at the moment, we’re not being effective in those moments.”

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Despite the defeat to Merhyr, however, Brownlie was proud of his players’ showing against a team currently occupying second spot in the division.

“There are times when you can play well and still get beaten at this level. And that was one of those occasions,” said the Basingstoke manager.

“For three quarters of the game we’ve done really well. We changed things a fair bit and the change in shape as drastic as that can be difficult to adjust to. But I thought the boys adjusted to it very well.

“We were up against a good side, there’s no doubt about it. But I feel disappointed that we’ve not come away with at least something.”

Commenting on the penalty decision that was waived away, Brownlie said: “It looked clear as day to me but there weren’t too many complaints from our side.

“It looks like the keeper makes contact and the player’s been brought down but I’m too far away to make a real judgement call so I’ll have to trust the referee on that one.”

The Basingstoke boss will be hoping his team can end their disappointing run when they entertain Southern League Division One Central side Kidlington in the FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round this weekend.

And Brownlie admitted the game will be a welcome distraction from the league campaign.

He said: “It’s a bit of respite from the league because we’ve had a really tough week with three losses on the bounce. It feels overdramatised. This club isn’t used to losing.

“Based on level alone, I think we go into it as favourites. But as we found out to our detriment at Stoneham in the FA Cup, that doesn’t always play out as you might see it.

“It can sometimes be weaponised against you. It’s ours to lose and theirs to gain.”

Brownlie confirmed that midfielder Ben Cook is unlikely to feature on Saturday due to injury, while striker George Reid continues to be sidelined.

Captain Simon Dunn, however, could make a return to the squad for the clash with Kidlington.