PAUL Holleran admitted it was tough result to take after Leamington’s survival hopes suffered a major blow following an injury-time defeat against Chorley.
Ollie Hulbert’s 88th minute penalty looked to have rescued a point for the Brakes only for Jon Ustabaşı to score a 92nd minute winner for the visitors after Jack Sampson had opened the scoring at the Your Co-Op Community Stadium.
Leamington are now one place and two points from safety in the National League North relegation zone with just two matches left to play.
Holleran said: “I’m bitterly disappointed, it sums up our season really, the first goal we conceded was pathetic compared to how hard we had to work to score.
“It’s really disappointing but if you could sum up our season in a couple of moments you only need to look at the two goals we’ve conceded.
“There’s been too many moments where it’s been too easy to score against us, you question our football nous at times and we paid a heavy price.
“Right at the death, we’ve got to think ‘we’ve worked hard to get this point’, that point keeps us ticking over, we can’t allow them to break from our set-play and end up with an overload.
“To get nothing out of that game, when you’re a team like us which is on its knees anyway, it’s a tough one to take.”
Chorley took the lead on 51 minutes when Sampson finished at the back post from close range after Leamington failed to clear their lines at a corner.
The home side equalised two minutes from time when Hulbert squeezed the ball past Matthew Urwin from the penalty spot after substitute Junior English was hauled down in the box.
However, the visitors snatched the points at the death when Chorley broke from a Leamington long throw and Ustabaşı poked the ball past the onrushing Ted Cann and finished into an empty net.
Leamington are next in action away at title-chasing AFC Fylde on Saturday, April 22 with kick-off at 3pm at Mill Farm.
