After a formidable run of 13 league and cup games unbeaten, Nick Holmes's Salisbury City have lost two in a row.

With Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup exit at Merthyr Tydfil barely out of their systems, the Southern Premier leaders slipped to their first league defeat by an identical scoreline at Chippenham Town last night.

For a second game running, Holmes was forced into a defensive reshuffle.

Aaron Cook returned to action having missed the Merthyr game with flu, but his young sidekick, Tim Bond, was out with a groin strain, letting Michael Cooper in for his first start.

Up front Whites were without leading scorer Matt Tubbs, who was studded below the knee on Saturday, so Robbie Matthews started alongside Paul Sales.

Two Dave Gilroy goals proved Whites' undoing against a Bluebirds side who are proving nigh on invincible on home soil this term.

He struck first after just five minutes when Whites gave him too much time to head in Wayne Thorne's cross from the left.

Then, on 36 minutes, Salisbury old boy Sam Allison turned Cooper and squared for Gilroy to fire his second under keeper Kevin Sawyer.

Wayne Turk eventually pulled Salisbury back into it at the start of the second half.

But it needed a good tip-over by Sawyer to stop Gilroy completing his hat-trick with a right-foot blast in the 81st minute.