OLIVER Risser insisted there was nothing he could do to avoid scoring what proved a crucial own goal in the first minute of the second half of Town’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final defeat at Wembley.

The Namibian turned Alex Mendy’s cross into his own net just after the break to leave Chesterfield well in control, and although Craig Westcarr doubled the lead in stoppage time, Risser admitted his mistake proved crucial.

“If I could have avoided doing it I would have done, but there was very little I could do about it,“ Risser said.

“No-one ever wants to score an own goal, especially at Wembley, but it happens in football and you just have to get on with it.

“I am devastated and disappointed but there was nothing I could do.

“In the first half we did ok and were in the game, but after the own goal we were not up to standard.

“We were not as good in the second half as we were in the first but that can not be an excuse.”

Risser admitted the gloss of being the first man from his home country to play at Wembley had been taken off by the result, but backed Town to quickly bounce back.

“It was great to play at Wembley and be the first Namibian to play, but that does not matter now at all,” he said.

“We did not take the cup home which was our aim, but we have nine league games to go and we will make sure we keep our position at the top of the league.

“This was a cup final and it was very important for us, not just the players but for the fans too, and we are all very disappointed we were not able to win.

“We did not succeed in our goals of the game, and it is a bad feeling that we did not want to feel.”