PAUL Benson admitted the timing of Chesterfield's first goal provided a killer blow to Swindon's chances of lifting silverware at Wembley.

The second half was less than 60 seconds old when Oliver Risser prodded Alex Mendy's fizzing centre into his own net, immediately putting Town - who had dominated proceedings up until that point - onto the back foot.

The Robins struggled to recover from the setback, steadily abandoning the considered approach that had ripped their opponents to pieces without reward on occasions during the first 45 minutes.

And as their shape deteriorated so did any lingering hopes of a late reply.

Benson, who was critical of his own performance under the famous arch, conceded he and his teammates were momentarily stunned at falling behind.

"To come in at half time and to come out and them to score straight away, it's a bit of a killer blow," he said.

"We dug in and we tried to get back in the game and again I thought we got on top and then conceded to a breakaway goal, which is irrelevant because we were throwing so many men forward. It's disappointing.

"When you come out at half time you always try to keep it steady for the first five and we failed to do that and they've punished us.

"I was disappointed with how I played. I put the effort in but just sometimes it just doesn't work for you."

In an honest assessment of Swindon's collective failings on the biggest stage of all, Benson rued a lack of incision up front.

But the striker refused to use the venue as a reason for Town's wastefulness.

"I think we lacked a little something in the final third today," he said. "Whether it be a killer shot, a killer pass and a killer cross, we just didn't have that today and they punished us for it.

"Some days it just doesn't happen in that final third. We worked the ball a lot and got into some good positions in good areas but we just couldn't make the most of them.

"I don't think it was a case of being at Wembley. We have those sort of days throughout the season."

Despite the raw emotion that inevitably follows such a defeat, the season is still set to end on an enviable high for Town's players, staff, management and fans.

The npower League Two title and an instant return to League One is within reach, and Benson was keen to stress how well the Robins did just to ensure another day out at English football's headquarters.

"You can't lose sight of the fact that we've reached the final of competitions which had teams like Charlton, Brentford and good League One teams in our area," he said.

"We've got to the final of that, so we need to be proud of that and we're top of the league and four points clear with two games in hand.

"Let's try to look at the positives. It's a disappointing day but we're in a position where a lot of teams in League Two would rather be than in their own position."