FRUSTRATED Worcester City boss Carl Heeley has admitted his side are down to the ‘bare bones’ ahead of Saturday’s visit of FC United of Manchester.
A growing injury list, together with suspensions for Lee Hughes and Sam Oji, means the City chief has few options as he looks to end a run of six games without a win.
City suffered late heartbreak at the Victoria Ground on Saturday when Bradford Park Avenue stole all three points with the last kick of the game.
After a scrappy first 45 minutes, the game came to life in the second half, with the introduction of Jordan Murphy sparking the Blue and Whites.
City came closest to opening the scoring in the 66th minute through Lee Hughes whose header cannoned off the post and keeper Jon Worsnop for a corner.
But the visitors took the points six minutes into stoppage time after Nicky Boshell found space on the edge of the box and half volleyed a vicious effort through a crowded box into the net.
Despite the cruel finale, Heeley confessed his side didn’t deserve to win the game and said he was frustrated with the performance.
“That’s what you get for giving cheap free kicks away,” he said.
“I think the writing was on the wall for the last 15 minutes, it was the longest hour and a half of my life standing there on the touchline
“We need 11 working hard and for me that wasn’t the case against Bradford.”
One plus for City was the return of James Chambers for his start since September after a hamstring problem.
The full extent of City’s injury crisis was laid bare with the surprise appearance of former midfielder Sean Geddes on the bench for Saturday’s clash.
Speaking after the game, Heeley admitted the move was a one-off.
“We are down to the bare bones, we’ve kept Sean’s registration and he hadn’t got a game for Sutton Coldfield, his new team, so I phoned [manager]Richard Sneekes who I get on really well with and he gave us the green light to use him,” he said.