Defender Nick Burton insists Crawley's play-off ambitions are as strong as ever despite a devastating defeat against Halifax.

Reds plummeted from second to seventh after Craig Midgley scored an 82nd-minute penalty to catapult the Shaymen into third spot.

The setback could not have come at a worse time for Crawley with three of their next four matches being away to in-form teams in the top half.

They start at runaway leaders Barnet on Saturday before making trips to Hereford and Dagenham.

If Reds had beaten Halifax, a point from each may have been enough to keep them in the hunt.

They now need a win from at least two of those games, which seems unlikely with their record on the road.

Reds have taken just 13 points from a possible 48 away, winning just three times.

But Burton, who made a solid debut at centre back after signing last week from Farnborough, thinks differently.

The 29-year-old has already seen enough of his new side to suggest they are not out of the running yet.

He said: "It is not the end of the world because it is so tight at the top of the table. The sign of a good team is how they bounce back in the next game and we have a great bunch of lads so I'm sure we will get the right result against Barnet.

"Those are the sort of games you have to win if you want to reach the play-offs. Crawley have been up there all season so they have no reason to fear anyone."

Manager Francis Vines, surprisingly upbeat following the defeat, shares Burton's attitude.

He believes any team in the top half of the Conference can still reach the play-offs.

Every team has dropped points in their last six matches, with only Woking remaining unbeaten.

Vines said: "We lost but we are still right in the thick of it. It is so tight that a side only needs to rattle out a few great results and they are going to get there.

"We have got all the top teams to play and if we can win five or six games until the end of the season then we are in with a great chance.

"You have to remember that we are the small fish at this end of the table so the only pressure on us is the pressure we put on ourselves.

"We have already had a great season so it doesn't matter what happens from now on, the guys should be proud of themselves."

That may be so but when you consider Crawley have swept aside better teams than Halifax at home, you cannot help feeling Reds let themselves down with this defeat.

Crawley were awful for the first half and deserved to be behind at the break to Martin Foster's low 20-yard drive on 15 minutes.

Vines' side improved after the break, as they have done so many times this season, and equalised within five minutes of the restart when John Robinson hammered home his second goal in three league games since joining.

Reds could have won it with any one of three chances soon after.

Millwall loanee Joe Healy, who looked out of his depth for long spells after making his first league start, had a shot smothered by visiting keeper Ian Dunbavin.

Captain Ian Simpemba mis-cued a header from close range after being left unmarked at a free-kick. Allan Tait then had an angled drive blocked at point-blank by Dunbavin.

But there was no begrudging Halifax taking the points. The visitors had taken the game to Reds from the start and gave them a lesson in how to win games away.

Vines said: "I take my hat off to Halifax because I didn't think they would come out and play like they did.

"They actually came here to get a win and it was great to see. I thought they might have sat back but they didn't and it put us on the back foot."

However, there were question marks over the way the visitors won the game. Substitute Neil Ross, who scored a controversial penalty in a 1-0 win when the sides met in January, went down easily after Smith had gone to ground early to try and smother the ball.

It was a needless challenge by Smith as the Halifax striker was running away from goal.

Vines said: "Phil says the guy ran into him and just fell over. I'm not going to knock it because if that had been one of our guys I would have been delighted.

"It would be nice if Phil guessed the right way for once. He has had three or four penalties in the last few months and I just wish he would take a gamble. He hasn't got anywhere near them."

Crawley: Smith 5, Palmer 6, Burton 6, Simpemba 6, Opinel 6 (Harkin 79), Robinson 6, Kember 6, Wormull 7, Jenkins 6, Healy 5, Tait 6. Subs not used: Little, Marney, El-Abd, Platel.

Halifax: Dunbavin, Bushell, Ingram, Quinn, Haslam, Young, Foster, Midgley, Howell, Sugden (Killeen 60), Mansaram (Ross 60). Subs not used: Stoneman, Blunt, Chin.