SHELL-shocked skipper Scott Arnold reckons Wimborne Town need to recruit some nastiness after contriving to lose a match in which they scored five goals.

Magpies were swamped in a surreal 11-goal thriller against Winchester City on Tuesday, suffering a 6-5 reverse in their first home Southern South & West fixture of the campaign.

Carl Preston’s sublime curler put the hosts in front but Jamie Barron and Warren Bentley turned the tide with two goals in as many minutes.

James Stokoe pounced a sloppy pass to level for Wimborne but George Short rifled home to make it 3-2 to City after just 24 minutes.

Home hotshot Mark Gamble then took advantage of a defensive mix-up to restore parity again but the Magpies were architects of their own downfall, gifting Bentley another two in first-half stoppage time.

Wimborne had hope when Adam Tomasso was sent off for handling a goal-bound shot with Gamble rifling home from the penalty spot but the irrepressible Bentley registered his ninth goal in two league matches to make it 6-4 midway through the second half.

Gamble completed his hat-trick with seven minutes to play but Town could not find a leveller on a crazy night at Cuthbury.

Angry Wimborne boss Steve Cuss remonstrated with referee Chris Wade at full-time and left without doing his usual post-match briefing with the club’s video channel.

But his long-serving captain, who described as “criminal” the setback, pulled no punches on the back of Magpies shipping 10 goals in two matches and argued the case for experienced reinforcements.

Arnold told the Daily Echo: “The side doesn’t have a big strapping centre-half who will go through people and forwards might feel like they can have an easy day against us.

“We need be a bit more aggressive. We probably need a Nathan Walker or Michael Walker who tells you what they are going to do to you and actually do it.

“You could see that with the two goals before half-time. We were trying to play football from the back and got caught on it whereas a player like that would have smashed it away.

“We need to be a bit more ruthless. How many mistakes do we have to make before we get that into our game?

“I think we are a bit too nice in that respect. It is something we lack and something we need but the club is on a tight budget and we cannot just go out and buy those players.

“We do have some nasty players in the side but centre-half is an area where we miss that. You look at every team at this level and they tend to have someone who heads it, kicks it and smashes people.

“We are trying to bring through the youth and work off the scraps of every other club. If we can get anyone in to help us, I’m sure we will but it is down to the budget and Cussy enticing people.”

Meanwhile, Arnold insisted the blame should not be laid Cuss’s door.

“I feel for the gaffer, he deserves more than he is getting,” he added.

“He puts a lot into the club and is on his own here. He now has to face a fans’ forum on the back of us getting slated at the end of the first half.

“It is a friendly club but when things aren’t going well, people do turn and that is understandable. We need to get the faith of the crowd back.

“We will turn it around, no problem. From an attacking point of view, there were so many positives to take but you just cannot go conceding six goals.

“Everyone is working hard. You can’t fault people’s effort, it is just decision making and doing the right things at the right times.”

Magpies: Harvell, Arnold, Oliver, Costello (Waters, 82), Maybury, Turner, Griffin, Wilson, Stokoe, Gamble, Preston. Unused subs: Biles, Elliott, Kellaway, Roast.