Boss Mark Yates refused to blame missed chances in front of goal as his side went down to a 3-2 defeat at Grays yesterday afternoon.

Justin Richards grabbed his fifth goal of the season whilst strike partner Matthew Barnes-Homer notched his fourth - but Harriers were guilty of missing further chances in the second half as they succumbed to another away defeat.

But speaking to the official website today, Yates wasn't laying the entire blame for the defeat at the feet of his front men.

The away defence was found equally as wanting for a couple of Grays' goals, and as he waits to review the match DVD, the boss insisted that success and defeat must both be taken as a team.

"I have a lot of sympathy for Justin because in the second half I thought he and Matthew were absolutely superb," he told harriers.co.uk.

"He did brilliantly for his goal but unfortunately then missed two what he and we would call simple chances - that happens.

"He was the first one to put his hand up in the dressing room, and that's good but we win and lose together, all of us.

"We just have to make sure that as a team we don't lose confidence and we'll work on our deficiencies and look towards the Oxford game."

Reflecting on the defeat which saw Harriers miss the chance to move within a whisker of the play-off places in the Blue Square Premier, Yates was keen to keep things in context.

"There are going to be plenty of ups and down during the season but we just have to keep ourselves focused," he continued.

"If we can learn quickly and perhaps do one or two things better than we have been doing then it'll be a decent season.

"Grays is a difficult place to go and we have a terrible record down there for some reason or another.

"But we're hardly panicking yet, it was just a little set-back and there are plenty of teams having those - we're a young team and we just have to keep positive."