Crawley manager Steve Evans is refusing to give up on reaching the Blue Square Premier play-offs but admits his side now need a miracle to get there.

Reds suffered their first defeat in six league games in front of the live television cameras at Forest Green Rovers last night.

They are ten places and 16 points adrift of the top five with a third of the season remaining.

Evans, speaking on satellite tv, said: "You can never give up on the play-offs.

"It will need a miracle to get there but we will have a big say in who will be in there at the end of the season because we have still got to play all the big teams.

"We had a good look at it this year and it is hard work because the teams up there are very well funded and very well run. But we have made enormous progress since last summer."

Evans blamed the defeat on the referee's failure to award his side a clear penalty in the second half when top scorer Jamie Cook was tripped.

He said: "He (the referee) got it badly wrong and has done Forest Green an enormous favour.

"We were not good enough in the first half but after we made some changes any neutral watching would have said there was only going to be one winner."

Reds were unchanged from the previous Saturday;s 8-0 drubbing of Droylsden but they looked a different team for most of the first half.

There was little sign of their high tempo attacking play for most of the opening 45 minutes on the back foot.

Rovers were solid at the back and in striker Stuart Fleetwood had a constant threat upfront.

The Blue Square premier top scorer went close after 14 minutes when he wriggled past Jamie Stevens and was denied by a point-blank block from keeper Ashley Bayes.

Fleetwood's strike partner Adriano Rigoglioso then threatened later with a first time shot which was deflected into the side betting by Stevens.

Jon-Paul Pittman had Crawley's best chance just past the half-hour with a rasping drive from the edge of the box which keeper Ryan Robinson parried over spectacularly.

The visitors switched from a 4-4-2 formation to 3-5-2 for the second half and began to control the game however, they failed to turn their possession into chances and were hit by a sucker punch on 72 minutes.

Bayes did well to keep out a close range shot from substitute Les Afful but could do nothing to stop Alex Lawless' follow up shot which skidded threw a crowd of Reds defenders and in off the right-hand post.

Crawley have signed defender Dominic Shimmim from Queens Park Rangers until the end of the season.

The 20 year-old, who was an unused sub in last night's game at Rovers, was released by the Championship club after a handful of first team appearances and had a loan spell at Bournemouth.

Forest Green: Robinson, Jones, Giles, Hardiker, Tonkin, Lawless, Brough, Pitman, Clist, Rigoglioso, Fleetwood. Subs: Burton, Preece, Afful, Dodgson, Bertram.

Crawley Town: Bayes, Murphy, Wilson, Stevens, Watson, Vieira, Thompson, Bulman, Carayol, Cook, Pittman. Subs: Shimmin, Blackburn, Pinault, Joseph-Dubois, James.

Do you believe in miracles. Are Crawley's play-off hopes over?