CHERRIES Women suffered their first league defeat of the season, going down 2-1 at promotion rivals Cheltenham Town.

A superb free-kick from Katie James came in vain for the visitors, as strikes from Charlotte Criddle and Tamzin Hayward gave the Robins all three points.

The defeat sees Cherries slip off top spot in Division One South West of the National League, a point behind Cheltenham having played a game more.

"We're really disappointed, especially to lose our first game of the season," boss Steve Cuss told Cherries' website.

"It's never easy, but overall I can't argue too much. I didn't think we were at our fluid best. It became a little bit frantic.

"We didn't really get a grip of the game and we gave away too many fouls against a good, experienced side. We then found ourselves trailing and it was difficult.

He added: "It's a learning experience. We want to be a club that plays in these types of games regularly and a lot of young players have experienced that for the first time (on Sunday).

"I said to them after the game, it's part of the learning process and part of the finer details in a very, very close game. Crucially, it was going to be important whoever got the first goal.

"There's lots to be learned, particularly for the younger members of the squad but also for the older ones. We want to be part of these top-of-the-table games."