Cheltenham Town fell to a 2-0 defeat against Newport County in the EFL Trophy at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.
A goal in either half from Nathan Wood and Will Evans saw Darrell Clarke’s third game as Robins manager end in defeat.
“We’ve had a lot of the play and created chances ourselves but haven’t taken them and both boxes become key,” said Clarke post-match.
“The boys are responding well in training and are giving everything but we're nowhere near the standard we need to be at and with that you have to continue to work hard.
“I said to my players, there is no hiding place when it comes to football and things not going well and you have to stand up and be resilient.”
Buoyed by Saturday’s performance, the Robins started on the front foot with an energetic opening as captain Curtis Thompson saw a scissor kick fall wide before Josh Williams fired an effort over.
The hosts continued to come forward as Tom Bradbury’s flick on found Ellis Chapman inside the six-yard box but he could only steer his effort into the arms of Jonny Maxted.
Against the run of play, the Exiles took the lead in the 26th minute as Wood capitalised on a second ball from a corner at the back post to tap in.
As the half seemed to be petering out, the visitors nearly doubled their lead with Evans taking advantage of a loose pass before shooting wide from the left corner of the box.
The second half began in a similar fashion to the first with Aidan Keena finding himself through on goal and after rounding the goalkeeper, his effort was cleared by the sliding defender.
The Irishman tested Maxted at his near post two minutes later with a powerful snapshot after a sweeping Robins move.
However, the Exiles soon doubled their lead with Evans unleashing a right footed effort from outside the box into the far corner.
The Robins thought they had pulled a goal back through a Bradbury header but he was flagged offside by the assistant on the far side.
Bradbury would come close again 14 minutes later but had his effort saved this time from Liam Sercombe’s corner.
As the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, some quick interplay around the Exiles’ box presented Thompson with a shooting opportunity but his effort was diverted over the crossbar by Maxted.
CHELTENHAM TOWN (3-5-2): Harris; Smith, Bradbury, B. Williams; J. Williams, Chapman (Goodwin 61), Thompson (c), Adshead (Sercombe 61), Ferry (Olayinka 69); Malcolm, Keena (Street 73). Subs not used: Freestone, D’Auria Henry, Wilcox.
NEWPORT COUNTY (4-2-3-1): Maxted; Payne, Seberry, Delaney (c), McLoughlin; Bennett (Baker 79), Wildig (Morris 45); Rai, W. Evans (Waite 70), Wood; Bogle (Bondswell 70). Subs not used: Townsend (Gk), C. Evans
REFEREE: M Russell
ATTENDANCE: 1,175 (178 from Newport)