Arthurlie got back to winning ways with a solid 5-1 win away to Girvan on Saturday – but that wasn’t enough to stop manager Duncan Sinclair tearing into his side for their lacklustre second-half performance. 

Lie had lost their previous two matches in the league, but they came out with all guns blazing against a hapless Girvan side they put four past in a superb first-half display. 

When the sides met in the Super Premier League last season they played out a 1-1 draw on two occasions, but there was no repeat of that scoreline on Saturday, when a new-look Lie eased to a 5-1 win. 

Sinclair’s side opened the scoring after just 10 minutes when Jamie Docherty laid it off for Del McNab in the area and the striker made no mistake from close range.

The visitors were flying as they doubled their lead before the half-hour mark with Tony Ethernson nodding home from a Craig Forbes cross.

Girvan’s first chance came 10 minutes before the break, but James Digney pulled off a stunning stop to halt any burgeoning hopes of a comeback.

Lie broke at pace from the save and Macauley Wilson bundled home for his side’s third. 

Docherty found himself one-on-one with Clark in the Girvan goal moments later. The keeper stood up to deny Docherty, but the rebound fell to Forbes who was on hand to all but secure the points before the first 45 was over.

However, in the second half the hosts began to control proceedings and had chances early on to pull a couple back. 

In response, Arthurlie looked to freshen things up so Sinclair rang the changes and, with 15 minutes remaining, they made it five when Dom O’Halloran headed home.

Girvan pulled one back in the final 10 minutes, but Arthurlie had already taken their foot off the gas as they eased to an important three points.

Despite the points, it was the “rotten” second-half performance that left Sinclair far from happy. 

He said: “I was only happy with the first 45 minutes on Saturday. I thought the shape we had and the way we knocked it about was great. We made Girvan work very hard and scored good goals.

“But we didn’t play at all in the second half. We were absolutely rank rotten, to be honest. 

“We didn’t do the simple things well enough, we didn’t play at a high tempo and to only score one more goal after being so dominant in the first half was a bit disappointing. 

“I expect more from the players over 90 minutes.”

While Sinclair was quick to criticise, he also recognised it is still early days for his new-look side and admits he’s looking forward to taking on league leaders Rutherglen Glencairn on Saturday. 

He added: “It is early days in terms of the players getting to know each other and they will be a dangerous side when they gel. They are creating chances. 

“Rutherglen are a good team. I’ve had them watched and have a few reports on them and it will be difficult, but I’m hopeful of putting back-to-back wins together. 

“We’ll go and give it a go – we’re not scared of anybody.”