JOHN Sheridan has urged Oldham Athletic to make better decisions after losing to a stoppage time goal for the second game in a row.

Having suffered their first defeat in eight games under Sheridan after a late lapse in concentration at home to Carlisle United, they went to Swindon Town on Saturday looking to bounce back.

Head coach Sheridan kept faith with the team that had lost 2-1 to the Cumbrians the previous weekend, and they held their own for long periods.

But after Jordan Clarke was sent off in the first minute of stoppage time for his second bookable offence, Jack Stubbs then gave away a free kick with a late challenge, and Swindon’s Dion Conroy scored from the set piece to win it in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

"To concede with near enough the last kick of the game... we've defended heroically when we've had to. It's just a downer we've ended up conceding a goal like that,” said Sheridan.

“We shouldn't be giving a silly foul away. That's what's caused the goal. We shouldn't give a silly foul away. We've got two centre halves who have gone off. We should never give a cheap foul away in that silly area at that time of the game.

"We battled away. I'd like us to be brave enough in our decision making but there were too many people again off their game.

“If we'd have come away with a point I would have probably been talking more positively. I would have said probably the same things but we'd have been taking a point home. It's hard to take.”

And Sheridan felt having six booked and one sent off highlighted a lack of judgement.

"We make silly fouls and decisions. A lot of it is probably our fault,” he said.

"I've had a little go at them but it's not a time to be hard. The game's gone now, we've thrown a point away.

"It's making decisions. You can't give a silly free kick away in the last seconds of the game in a dangerous area. Stand on your feet. It just puts you right under pressure. He puts a great ball in, but they're overloaded because we've got two of our best defenders off the pitch.”