Crawley look doomed for relegation from the Kent/Sussex Regional League following a 2-0 defeat by local rivals Mid Sussex.

Skipper Terry Higgs remains upbeat about his side's chances of avoiding the drop but this latest defeat is a major blow.

Crawley are now seven points adrift at the bottom of the table with six games to go. Although four of them are at home, they have only won once in 16 games this year and the signs are not good.

Higgs said: "We now have six cup finals and we need to win five of them.

"Our luck has to change. We are a far better side than in the first half of the season and we are creating great opportunities but we need to convert them.

"It's unbelievable that we are the league's lowest goalscorers. I'm hoping we will click this week when we play Worthing at home and we'll be looking for revenge after dominating at Worthing only to lose 3-2."

Crawley could have been three-up inside the first 15 minutes at Mids on Saturday as Keith Frimley, Higgs and Adrian Shuttleworth all went close.

However, Mids took the lead when Simon Hobden scored from a rebounded short corner.

Mids' Duncan Wood Allum then had a goal disallowed but Crawley responded with further chances.

In the second half, Phil Middleton scored from a short corner to give the home side a cushion.

Crawley hit back with Peter Waller's short corner strike saved by Greg Purdie. Then Jamie Westwood's goalbound flick hit his own skipper's foot and Stuart Donaldson's strike was deflected wide.

Middleton said: "I'm sure Crawley will look back on a couple of missed chances but we could have had a couple more too."