Swindon Supermarine suffered their seventh successive defeat at Evesham on Saturday.
And to add to Murphy's injury headache, keeper Liam Bull was hospitalised after a 70th-minute clash.
The former Bath No 1, replaced by former Swindon Town youngster Paul Titcombe, suffered a dislodged kneecap and ligament damage and could be facing a lengthy lay-off.
It will be scant consolation for John Murphy, but at least his side went down fighting.
After conceding two early goals, a strong Evesham side led by former Swindon Town hard man Darren Bullock looked set to destroy Murphy's strugglers.
But the Wiltshire side dug deep and a brace from Swindon-based new boy Adie Adams on loan from Forest Green Rovers saw Marine go down 3-2.
The writing was on the wall when Evesham built a two-goal cushion within the first 17 minutes.
Central defender Matt Gardiner volleyed the first on eight minutes and Shaun Pratt should have doubled the lead before Leroy May eventually did, converting Grant Pinkney's cross.
But Marine didn't crumble and Adams hit the first of his debut brace on 35 minutes.
A Marine corner was only partially cleared and Adams reacted quickest to fire home.
Evesham restored their two-goal advantage on the hour when some fine interplay led to Pratt teeing up Nathan Jukes who calmly slotted past Bull.
The hosts could have extended their lead further, but a spirited Marine held out and Adams reduced arrears again with his second five minutes from time.
It's another defeat though, and Marine continue to occupy bottom spot with just a single point to their name.
"Obviously we are very disappointed," said Murphy, whose preparations continue to suffer at the hands of a lengthy injury list.
"We seem to be chasing games at the moment and we're not very good at that.
"The overall squad is good enough for this level, but the difficulty we have is that we can't get a settled 11 playing on a regular basis.
"The confidence is low. The players worked hard but have nothing to show for it again."
Supermarine: Bull, Smith, Beaverstock, Davis, McCluskey, Adams, Jones, Swann, Donnelly, Hulbert, Bennett. Subs: Titcombe, White, Collier, Macklin, Richards.
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