“IF WE’VE got our best players available, we’ll be fine,” is a point joint-manager Carl Heeley often stresses in a bid to reassure Worcester City fans after a disappointing display.

And he had to repeat himself again following City’s 3-1 defeat at Curzon Ashton.

With Nathan Vaughan, Wayne Thomas and Tom Sharpe in the starting line-up, Worcester have proven they are a match for any side in Vanarama National League North.

But without their experienced trio, the Blue and Whites have shown they are certainly not “fine”.

City may have taken the lead at the Tameside Stadium thanks to a stunning 30-yard strike from Shaun Donnellan on 52 minutes.

But it was Curzon who dominated for large periods and in the end got the three points they deserved as Chris Rowney levelled matters before Dan Cockerline and Matthew Warburton struck in the closing stages.

Heeley and joint-boss Matt Gardiner knew Thomas (back) and Vaughan (groin) could play no part at the weekend.

But they suffered a further blow when Sharpe phoned in to say he had injured his back loading his wife’s car.

Keeper Calum Kitscha and centre back pairing Kieran Morris and Alex Gudger battled hard in their absence, but with a lack leadership on the field, Curzon were allowed to dictate proceedings.

City just seemed content on sitting back in the first half as full back Joe Green and Warburton often found themselves with time and space on the left.

Apart from palming away Warburton’s effort, though, Kitscha was largely untested.

His opposite number, Hakan Burton, also did not have a save to make in a dull opening period, but he was left to pick the ball out of his net seven minutes after the break.

After Lee Hughes’ attempted pass through to Marius Ologu was cut out, the ball rolled out to Donnellan whose shot from distance proved too good for Burton.

Suddenly, City were in command and had an opportunity to claim an unexpected three points.

But Curzon always looked threatening and when Gudger was forced off with a knee problem they finally broke Worcester’s resistance.

Rowney played a one-two with Warburton before slotting the ball home on 71 minutes.

Unable to call upon any experience players from the bench, City failed to stem the tide as Cockerline flicked the ball past Kitscha to make it 2-1 with nine minutes left.

And Curzon then sealed victory in stoppage-time when Ryan Brooke latched onto a mistake by Morris and Warburton found the bottom corner.

The final scoreline may seem harsh as Morris went close with a header and Dan Nti hit the crossbar late on, but City have still got work to do to secure their survival.