DEVIZES Town will rightly feel aggrieved at the harshness of the score-line but it is results that matter and this was their sixth consecutive defeat.

Dave Hopkins' side completely dominated the first half hour and took a deserved lead through Steve Campbell.

But they were made to pay for not building up a more commanding lead and Exmouth hit back before netting two late goals to make the score-line look very one-sided.

Hopkins said: "Anyone watching the game will see we had 95 per cent of the match. We felt they earned a dubious penalty and we've gone in at 1-1 at half-time when we felt we could have been 3-0 up.

"We battled in the second half but at the risk of repeating myself we just aren't getting the luck.

"The referee jokingly checked with us that he'd got the score the right way round which sums it up really."

Devizes played with the wind at their backs in the first half and camped in the Exmouth half for long spells.

Steve Bush and Steve Campbell both tried their luck from long range in the opening minutes forcing Tim Thorn into one decent save.

On six minutes Bush fed Campbell and he cut across one defender and hitting a dipping effort that Thorn did well to parry. Nick Mooney was quickest to the rebound but he put the ball wide from a tight angle.

It was all Devizes as Dave Lloyd has a shot blocked and Justin Lisle miscued an effort on the turn.

Jez Hare in the Devizes goal hardly touched the ball for the first half an hour as Exmouth failed to even manage a shot on goal.

Campbell went close twice more and Lloyd had two back post headers from Campbell's headers deflected away from goal.

Jamie Densham hit the bar with a header in Exmouth's first real attack of the half but just as Devizes were starting to become frustrated they got the goal that their dominance merited.

On 30 minutes Lloyd and Lisle combined to play Campbell through on the right and this time he made no mistake slotting the ball into the far corner.

Devizes forced a succession of corners but the ball would not go in and their lead evaporated when they conceded a contentious penalty two minutes before the break.

Densham took Dougie Jane's pass and went down under a challenge from Hopkins.

The referee did not immediately respond to Exmouth appeals but after consulting his linesman pointed to the spot and Danny Burwood made no mistake.

In the second half the game was evenly balanced with both sides having chances to go in front.

An unmarked Brad Newman missed the target after being picked out superbly by Lloyd while Densham should have done better at the other end with a free header. Lloyd almost got on the end of an Andy Stone centre but it was Exmouth who got the vital third goal 13 minutes from time.

Terry Price clipped a free-kick into the area and player-manager Russell Wilson, who had not long been on the field as a substitute, flicked a back header into the far corner.

Devizes pushed Exmouth back in search of an equaliser but despite some frantic goalmouth scrambles the ball would not go in. Exmouth held firm and then made the game safe with two more goals in the final four minutes.

Densham rode a Coombes tackle and side-stepped Hare to slot in before the same player capitalised on a slip by the goalkeeper to net another tap-in.

Devizes will now look to give themselves a much needed lift by beating neighbours Melksham on Boxing Day.

Hopkins added: "Things aren't going our way at the moment but we've got no doubts our luck will change. We think once we get a few wins under our belt our confidence will be high. We've got the quality and will battle through. We were downbeat after the final whistle on Saturday but it was another game we could have won."

Nick Mooney is a doubt for the game after taking a bad knock on the shin against Exmouth but Devizes have been boosted by Darren Slattery's return to the club.

He was a regular for Devizes last season but left the club when manager Ray Baverstock departed. He suffered a broken wrist around the same time and rarely played for new club Swindon Supermarine because of the injury.