MATT Clarke admits his Redditch United side ‘lack winners’ after surrendering a two-goal lead in a 4-3 defeat against Lowestoft Town.
The Reds raced into an early lead as Jack Kelly and Kyle Rowley put Clarke’s men in command at the Valley Stadium.
However, Joseph Duffy reduced the deficit before Gabriel Overton levelled the game in first-half injury time.
Adi Yussuf’s first Redditch goal restored the home side’s lead after the break only for Joao Soares Rangel to equalise for the visitors just past the hour mark.
And Owen Murphy scored a stunner five minutes from time to stretch Redditch’s winless run in the Southern League Premier Central to eight matches.
Reds boss Clarke admits the club have struggled to bring players in to support a young squad and insists his squad is in desperate need of reinforcements following a poor run of results.
Clarke said: “It’s tough, it’s difficult in football when you’ve been beaten like that, the reality is we went two-nil up, looking really good like there was only one winner.
“Then we don’t track a runner into our box, we had a warning minutes earlier, the second goal is a catalogue of errors, the confidence and energy zapped out of us.
“It was criminal to go into the break at two-two when we created so many chances, then we went out and get a lifeline in the second half and go three-two up.
“I just want to apologise to the supporters for us to serve that up and concede four goals at home – it could have been eight-eight really – I take full responsibility, it’s really disappointing.
“They are a very young group [of players], you can’t go in the dressing room and kick the cat, they can’t deal with that, we don’t have the strongest group.
“We’ve got to try and find a way of picking the players up, we know we lack a couple of winners, you have to work hard when you’re having a tough spell.
“We’re trying so hard to get people through the door but at this stage of the season, players are on a contract or they’re settled, the group desperately need help.
“I’m just focusing on trying to win a game of football because that’s what I’m not doing at the moment. It’s trying to find a way to get points on the board.”
Redditch took the lead on 11 minutes when Kelly curled a free-kick into the top left corner from just outside the penalty area.
And the home side doubled their advantage on 20 minutes as Rowley headed in Dylan Thomas’s corner.
However, Lowestoft halved the deficit nine minutes later when Duffy found the net before Overton headed in a cross from the right at the back post deep into first-half injury time to send the teams into the break level.
United reclaimed the lead on 56 minutes as Yussuf produced an instinctive finish from close range after the visitors failed to clear their lines at a corner.
However, the visitors drew level for a second time six minutes later when Rangel curled a shot into the corner.
And Lowestoft snatched the points on 85 minutes as Murphy unleashed a rocket into the top corner to leave the Reds stunned.
Redditch are next in action against against Stamford on Saturday, January 11 with kick-off at 3pm at the Zeeco Stadium.
