A 'madcap' 10-minute spell made Macclesfield’s Jersey defeat sound worse than it was, insists head coach Geoff Wappett.

The Blues’ hard-earned weekend on the Channel Island may have been marred by the loss to the National League One table-toppers but their mistakes towards the end made it a bitter pill for Wappett to swallow.

"The whole weekend was spot on, except for that 10 or 15-minute spell when we got absolutely battered," he said. "If you make mistakes against quality opposition, they’ll punish you time and time again.

"We’d done ok without scoring, we’d had the lion’s share of possession and position but Jersey defended tremendously well.

"They’re an extremely good side, their defence was polished and they countered at pace.

"Tom Eaton started to fire passes wider and longer and, after they scored a try from one, he did it again. They kept scoring from us trying to be too expansive too early.

"From being a close game going in our direction it went entirely to them in that period."

Blues have two games before the season ends and, smarting from his first whitewash since taking over at Priory Park, Wappett is demanding a strong finish from his men, who host Cinderford on Saturday.

"It’s vital we put the season to bed properly, and go into our summer with something at least half-decent to look back on," he added.

"We’re still sixth in the league so we’ll look to put on a better performance and show that we’re capable of better."