'I feel sorry for the fans that have travelled all this way' - Crawley Town manager John Yems frustrated after late defeat to Hartlepool United

With the game seemingly headed towards a stalemate, Pools found the winner with two minutes to go.

Jamie Sterry played the ball into Tyler Burey who crossed to Gavan Holohan, took a touch before a low finish past Reds keeper Glenn Morris.

Yems said: "I feel sorry for the fans that have travelled all this way, because it wasn't good enough.

"We've just said it in the dressing room, and I'm fed up of keeping on saying it.

"I feel sorry for the fans today because I've travelled up with some of them, but that wasn't good enough.

"Every game is a battle. They weren't going to let us play, and I've been saying this all the time.

"It's no good having a real battle if you don't win it in the end is it?

"We've got to improve as a side and as a club, because if we don't, we aren't prepared to come here and keep on getting beaten. It's not acceptable."

The Reds host Gillingham in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening.

The Crawley faithful are sure to create a raucous atmosphere, as the fans return to The People's Pension Stadium for a competitive fixture for the first time since December of last year.

But Yems said that his players would not deserve the Reds' fans support if they put in another disappointing display.

He added: "If we play like that, there will be no atmosphere there, and there doesn't deserve to be.

"I've got the hump and I'm annoyed because that isn't us. I'm sorry but that's not us."