DANNY Wilson lamented “the worst 45 minutes of our season” as Town were forced to spend another year in League One.

Millwall ran out 1-0 winners in Saturday's play-off final at Wembley thanks to captain Paul Robinson's first half effort, and it was a victory that the Lions fully deserved.

Swindon failed to get going in the opening period, putting in a lacklustre display, and although they improved after the break they rarely looked like troubling the opposition.

And Wilson was left disappointed at his side's showing in front of a crowd of more than 73,000.

“In the first half we didn’t get on the ball at all and pass it,” explained the boss.

“They pressed us very hard and high, and caused us a few problems with balls over the top.

“We put in 45 minutes of our worst display of the season.

“Give them credit. They are a good team, a strong team who press you hard.

“They don’t let you settle on the ball and maybe that’s the respect we’ve earned.

“They knew that if they sat back and let us play, then we could have played better than we did.

“We didn’t get on the ball and weren’t positive in the first half. The full-backs sat in, we didn’t advance into good areas and were quite timid.

“But I thought in the second half we came out far better, got on the ball, dictated the play and gave ourselves the confidence to be in possession and put them on the back foot.

“You are just waiting for the one opportunity, but unfortunately it didn’t go our way.”

That one clear-cut chance fell to 20-goal striker Charlie Austin with 72 minutes on the clock.

The rookie took advantage of a mistake by Robinson to race clear, only to shank his shot well wide thanks to a nasty bobble off the much-maligned Wembley pitch.

And Wilson believes that piece of poor fortune was a defining point of their defeat.

“Did we deserve to win it? I don’t know,” he said. “I think the game hinged on two moments. The first one was the missed header from the corner which we haven’t got away and they bundled it over the line.

“And the second was the bobble for Charlie when he was through on goal.

“The bottom line is they were two key moments.”