Boss John Gregory accused his Crawley side of being naive after they were sunk by a late goal at leaders Bristol City.

Reds looked on course to grind out an impressive 0-0 draw at Ashton Gate until Luke Ayling volleyed home from a corner in the 87th minute.

Gregory was delighted with the way his side had defended for the majority of the game but said the winning goal highlighted that you cannot afford to switch off.

Gregory said: “The game was in the palm of our hands. We were comfortable so to end up conceding in the last few minutes was galling.

“One mistake over the whole 90 minutes cost us today. So many players went for the first header and it found its way to Ayling at the far post who was all alone.

“They all wanted to be a hero. They played with their hearts not their heads.

“I can’t fault the effort and enthusiasm the boys showed today. They worked exceptionally hard and that is why they were so devastated at the end.

“But hard luck stories don’t earn you any points. There were elements of us being naive today.

“Bristol City have a lot of players who know how to win football matches and they showed that in the last two minutes by smashing everything into the corner flags.”