WORCESTER City manager Carl Heeley expressed his frustration after his side left Humberside on the end of a 3-0 defeat against play-off rivals North Ferriby United that he admitted they “probably deserved”.

Heeley bemoaned City’s defensive display after his side were sucker-punched by two free headers in the defeat which saw them lose ground in the race for the Vanarama Conference North play-offs.

He said: “At half-time we thought we were right in the game. But, with the greatest respect, when you concede goals like the second and the third, we failed to clear our lines and got punished.

“We got done by a free header on a set-piece. You’re never going to win games of football when you’re conceding goals like that.

“It is frustrating. We’ve defended poorly and haven’t done enough on the front foot. Games are decided in both penalty areas and Ferriby were better than us in both of them.”

Daniel Nti’s second-half dismissal piled further misery on City, while Wayne Thomas also picked up a suspension for accumulating ten yellow cards.

Heeley added: “The sending off has just compounded the issue. Wayne got himself booked and that’s his tenth booking, so he’s going to be suspended as well as Daniel which is frustrating. But when things go against you, it tends to go against you in threes and fours.”

But one positive Heeley could take from the game was the performance of full-back Kyle Haynes, who impressed again as he looks to fill the void left by George Williams’ departure to Barnsley.

The City manager added: “Kyle was terrific again and he’s been probably our best player since he’s come into the club.

“But, unfortunately for us, we’ve had other players who have failed to reach the same heights as Kyle, certainly on Saturday, and we’ve rightly got the result we probably deserved.”