No excuses from Lowestoft Town joint boss Micky Chapman

Lowestoft Town joint boss Micky Chapman admitted his side's display in the 2-0 defeat at Kingstonian 'wasn't good enough' as the Blues slipped up in the race for promotion on Monday night.

The Blues had the chance to move to the top of the table at Kingsmeadow, but goals in either half by Ryan Woods and Bobby Traynor gave K's all three points and, to compile Lowestoft's misery, Andrew Fisk was sent off for two bookable offences.

And with the Trawlerboys set to travel to Cray Wanderers on Sunday, Chapman conceded that his squad must raise their game if they are to stay in the title race.

'We weren't good enough on the night – it's as simple as that,' said Chapman, who side had claimed a 2-1 win against Wealdstone just 48 hours earlier at Crown Meadow. 'It was very disappointing and we are not going to look any further than ourselves for an explanation, individually and as a group.

'We fell way short of the standards that we expect of ourselves. It was a poor performance and a poor result for us. That's football though, you have to learn from games like that and move on.

'As disappointed as we are, we aren't going to dwell on it. We are going to get back on the training field and aim to get it right at the weekend.'

Chapman hopes the disappointment can act as a wake-up call for his side with the Blues desperate to make their two games in hand count over league leaders Billericay.

'All the lads are disappointed – we won't start blaming referees, looking for excuses,' added the Blues chief, whose side sit two points off top spot. 'We will leave that to other teams because a lot of other clubs do that.

'The players are a really honest bunch of lads and they know that on the night we weren't good enough and we need to get better.

'There's a long way to go – I said before that there's going to be a lot of ups and downs before the end of the season.

'It was a down night and it will give us a kick up the backside and I'm sure that we will come back even stronger.'

Chapman has warned his troops they must make the games in hand count if they are to sustain their challenge at the top.

'Games in hand are worth nothing if you don't turn them into points – that's what we're aiming to do,' he added. 'We're still in a strong position and we will be looking for a response at Cray in what is going to be another very tough game.'