COLIN Little insisted Alty should not be downhearted after failing to beat 10-man Farsley on Tuesday night but said a drastic improvement is still needed.

The Robins drew 1-1 at Throstle Nest after Little's second half goal cancelled out Damien Reeves' early opener.

But they played 55 minutes of the game against 10 men due to Reeves' sending off for an elbow on Chris Lane, which left the full back with a broken nose.

Alty had an avalanche of chances throughout the second half but couldn't breach the Farsley defence a second time.

And it is that lack of precision which Little believes is stopping the Robins from realising their full potential.

He told SAM Sport: "We can't be downhearted. We didn't win the game but we stopped them from going five points clear of us on their own ground.

"We've not played well yet this season but we're still only two points from safety so that's a good place to be.

"We have to improve though. There are maybe only one or two players who can look at themselves and think they've played to their full potential.

"If we don't raise our game we don't deserve to stay up."

Alty had initially struggled to cope with the fast pitch and heavy rain at Throstle Nest and Farsley dominated the early stages of their relegation battle.

Reeves' blistering pace proved a constant threat - one which wasn't snuffed out by the visiting defence as he raced onto a through ball from Michael Pearson to put his side ahead within 13 minutes.

The striker also showed a darker side to his game though, shoving Darren Tinson to the ground to earn himself a yellow card.

And as Alty began to establish a foothold in the game - both Little and Chris Senior spurning good opportunities - it was that side which got the better of him.

Reeves appeared to lead with his elbow as he challenged Lane for a high ball and a second yellow card meant an early bath.

From that point on, the Robins dominated.

Little was denied by Farsley keeper Tom Morgan either side of the break before his header was cleared off the line by Pearson.

The Alty hitman finally got his reward on 68 minutes when he banged the ball home from close range from Senior's cross-cum-shot.

But try as they might, the visitors couldn't get another. A combination of desperate defending and inaccurate finishing made sure of that.

At one point, Farsley enjoyed three huge escapes in the space of 10 seconds, Morgan saving from both Little and Senior before Amjad Iqbal threw himself in the way of Joe O'Neill's follow up. It summed up a frustrating evening.