NOTTS County didn't deserve to lose against Yeovil Town, said boss Chris Kiwomya.
The Magpies endured a 2-1 defeat against the Glovers at Meadow Lane in League One.
They fell 1-0 behind in injury time at the end of the first half when Yeovil's leading scorer Paddy Madden struck from close range.
Alan Judge fired Notts level from the penalty spot early in the second half.
But the visitors scored the winner just a few minutes later, midfielder Matthew Dolan beating teenage goalkeeper Fabian Spiess with a 20-yard free-kick.
It leaves the Magpies 11th in the table with four games of the season left.
"We weren't the best in the first half," said Kiwomya. "We couldn't get to grips with the pitch.
"But we were a lot better in the second half and should have at least got a point or even gone on to win the game.
"We made a great start after the break and I really thought we were going to kick on after we scored the penalty.
"But they scored from a free-kick only a couple of minutes later.
"It was a good free-kick, but I was disappointed the way we gave it away."
Magpies' sub Jeff Hughes missed an open goal from a few yards out in the second half.
"That was unbelievable, but I think the ball bobbled up," added Kiwomya.
"We had a few good chances and if we had that striker we need we would have won the game."
Kiwomya also said Notts need to be more direct in future.
"We want to try to play and entertain, but when you can't you've got to play percentage football," he said.
"The players come out and they want to pass their way through teams, but I think it's something we have got get out of our heads that the fans want to be entertained because you can't play on here.
"You've got to be more direct at times to try to win games."
Match report: Page 43
