Crawley boss Steve Evans was furious with his team's performance as they went down 1-0 to struggling Forest Green Rovers in the Blue Square premier.

A 75th-minute goal from Conal Platt, who had earlier missed a penalty, settled a scrappy contest and moved Green to within a point of Eastbourne Borough as the relegation battle intensifies.

Reds were hoping to take advantage of AFC Wimbledon's shock 2-0 home defeat by Grays in the battle for sixth spot but with top scorer Charlie Ademeno on the bench nursing a slight hamstring strain they struggled to create chances.

Evans said: "That performance summed up why we are not in the play-offs. It’s great to beat the Lutons, Yorks,Wrexhams and Kidderminsters of this league. Mikey Malcolm played as if he was on Dubai beach instead of trying to earn a living at Forest Green and he wasn’t the only one.

"The penalty decision was a joke but to be fair they should have had a stonewall penalty which wasn’t given. We have made decisions on most of our players for next season but one or two have not done themselves any favours with this performance."

Skipper Adam Quinn was guilty of missing his side's best two chances, heading wide from six yards in the 34th minute before failing to convert a close-range effort early in the second period.

Platt's 56th minute penalty, awarded after keeper Nick Jordan had clattered into Reece Dysche, was easily saved by the keeper but Reds were fortunate to escape when Jared Hotchkiss was sent tumbling in the box. The assistant referee flagged for a penalty but was over-ruled by referee Handley.

Platt made no mistake from close range in the 75th minute when he lost his marker Nick Carter in the box after being found by Paul Stonehouse's quick throw.