MANAGER Gareth Ainsworth called it the worst performance of the season as he saw his side knocked off the top of League Two as they conceded three goals at home to Northampton.

Two of those were free headers in a kamikaze five-minute spell at the start of the second half and Ainsworth blamed that for the 3-2 defeat.

He said: “The two sloppy goals at the start of the second half were terrible. It was not us at all. You can’t defend like that and we gave ourselves a mountain to climb. It was a cross, a free kick and two free headers in our box.”

Northampton were the best team to visit Adams Park this season and played as brightly as their pink shirts, but Ainsworth preferred to look at his own side afterwards.

He said:  “Northampton played well but that’s the worst we’ve played this season without a doubt We weren’t at the races today and fair play to them they have won the game. We have got to piece it together now for Tuesday.

“We lost a lot of individual battles in the middle of the park and we didn’t get our foot on it like we usually do. There’s no excuses we weren’t good enough today and we’ve got to put that right.

“In the second half when we were chasing it we played some decent stuff, but not enough.

“We were the worst team today but right to the end we were still fighting.

“The players are absolutely devastated, they are not used to losing. We are not top any more, Plymouth have gone top now, let others have a few pot shots at them and we can go under the radar.”

And he was keen to keep things in perspective on an afternoon when injuries robbed him of the services of key men Michael Harriman and Paul Hayes.

He said: “We are still second in the table after 11 games so it is not all doom and gloom.”

“We still scored two and we were in it right until then end.  They were desperate for the final whistle, they celebrated like mad at the end and that shows the respect they have for us but you can’t let three goals in at home.”