Crawley boss Scott Lindsey admitted the costly mistakes in their 3-2 home defeat by Colchester was a perfect illustration of “shooting ourselves in the foot”.
Lindsey warned his players, who occupy seventh place, that any repetition could lead to them missing out on the play-offs despite other results going their way.
Two goals from Tom Hopper either side of a Cameron McGeehan effort lifted 10-man Colchester out of the bottom two by a single point with four games remaining.
Crawley, who briefly pulled level thanks to a third goal in three games by Klaidi Lolos, scored again into stoppage time through Harry Forster but they have only won twice at home since New Year’s Day.
Lindsey said: “When you gift an opposition two goals, if not three, you’re never going to win a game of football. They were gifts and if we’re going to do that, we won’t make the play-offs.
“We were our worst enemy; it was an example of shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Lindsey wants his men to dwell on all the good things they have achieved this season for the remaining three games and not put their play-off challenge in doubt with “unprofessional play”.
He added: “Destiny is in our own hands. But we’ve been lucky with other results; I want us to hold our nerve and do it properly.”
Colchester boss Danny Cowley, who was serving a one-match touchline ban, hailed an “outstanding performance” and felt it was built on high energy.
He said: “They needed to run and run and run – and boy did they run. They must have covered every blade of grass.
“Obviously I’m delighted with the result but to be honest we should have won by more.
“Crawley’s first goal was offside and the corner from which we thought we had made it 4-1 was given as a foul but in fact there was no contact at all – certainly not on the keeper.
“It would have been a hat-trick for Tom Hopper and he thoroughly deserved that.
“He’s a hard-working player. In his position, he’s our first defender and we depend so much on him so to get goals as well, that’s a real bonus.”
Colchester were boosted by nearly 1,000 travelling fans and Cowley is appealing for maximum support for Tuesday’s home game against Grimsby.
He added: “We’ve got a good chance but we need everybody on board.”
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