Andy Winter insists Hamilton Accies can still make the play-offs, but says conceding late equalisers is killing them.
Accies have dropped points several times this season and did so again on Friday night when Kerr McInroy's stoppage-time wonder-strike earned Ayr United a 1-1 draw, cancelling out Winter's early strike.
The 20-year-old says it's not just the disappointment of conceding a late goal, but the loss of momentum that would have been with Hamilton, had they held out for a third successive league win, that would have made such a difference.
As it is, Accies head into Saturday's clash at home to Arbroath in sixth place, four points behind Raith Rovers, having played a game more.
Winter said: "It 100 per cent feels like a defeat. We were looking to go three wins in a row, I don't know the last time we did that, but see that momentum? That's priceless at this time in the season when there's teams above us that we can catch.
"If we take care of ourselves we could still be up there. There are still four games left in the season, so if we keep winning games we can get up there.
"But we should be seeing those games out - that's a lot of times this season we've not done that, and if you look at the table now it's killed us - we would have been a lot closer to the play-offs.
"It's still on, you never know what can happen at this time in the season and we didn't get beat, but we should be seeing that out.
"In hindsight, we would be right up there if we had seen a lot of games out this season, but we've just got to keep going.
"It's frustrating as players as well, because we do so well in the game. It's a cracking strike from the boy, but there were 30 seconds left or something like that. It's annoying."
That's three goals in as many games for Winter, but he says he didn't do enough at Somerset Park, and Hamilton's lack of chances in the second half probably added pressure to the defence.
He said: "It's good to get the goal, that's what I'm in the team to do, but without the goal I don't think I did enough in the game.
"It was a tough game out there, battling, but I'm looking to do more than that and maybe grab another one. That was probably the only strike on goal that I had in the game, as well.
"I think maybe in the second half we should have created more, we had a lot of shots in the first half, put a lot of pressure on them with corners and that, but I don't think their goalie really had a save to make in the second half.
"That probably put a wee bit of pressure on us at the back, as well.
"We've got to keep going and up there, and try to take more chances."
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