DUNCAN Sinclair has blasted his Arthurlie side after they bowed out of the Scottish Junior Cup with a whimper against Dundee Violet. 

Lie were supremely confident heading into the tie on the back of an impressive five-match winning run but they failed to show up against the Dundee club.

The visitors opened the scoring 20 minutes in when Sean Tucker fired beyond James Digney from the spot after the keeper fouled him in the area.

READ MORE: Duncan Sinclair looking to turn Dunterlie into fortress

Sinclair’s men did look to hit back and enjoyed the majority of possession in the first 45, but a resolute Violet defence held firm, and it wasn’t until the 30 minute mark that Lie managed to test the visiting keeper, with Jamie Docherty and James Marks forcing Darryl Burns into two fine stops. 

Barrhead News:

Lie had won their five previous matches before the defeat on Saturday 

The Dunterlie Park side did manage to haul themselves level before the break with Marks picking out Del McNab in the area.

And it looked like they would go in level at the break but with two first-half minutes remaining Arthurlie were hit with a sucker punch when Cammy Black made no mistake from close-range. 

Arthurlie upped the tempo after the restart in search of another equaliser but left themselves open at the back in doing so, with the visitors awarded another spot-kick after Thomson was brought down, with Tucker stepping up to net his second and Violet’s third. 

Things went from bad to worse for the home side when they found themselves down to 10 men with 20 minutes on the clock after Marks was ordered off as Violet saw it out. 

And Sinclair couldn’t hide his disappointment after failing to guide his side into the last 32. 

Barrhead News:

Duncan Sinclair admitted he was shocked by the display 

He said: “There was only one team that turned up on Saturday and it certainly wasn’t us. I thought we were really poor. We had a lot of the ball but we didn’t do anything with it if I’m being honest - I can’t remember their keeper making much saves. 

“Did the players think we were favourites and think it would be easy? I really don’t know. I’m at a complete loss with that result and performance. 

“It’s disappointing that our run has come to an end now but we need to get back on another run again as soon as possible now because it’s a long season.

“We were at home and we just didn’t turn up. It’s just disappointing that we’re out of the Scottish Cup before Christmas. We need to work hard to bounce back from that because we can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

READ MORE: Five on the bounce for Arthurlie after they thrash Irvine Vics 5-1

Lie return to league action this weekend as they host Craigmark Burtonians and despite the frustration from the Cup defeat still evident, Sinclair will not let it impact their league form, adding: “We need to make sure we’re competitive once again on Saturday and get back to being consistent. Irvine are a team that will fight for their lives. 

“Nothing changes for us in the league after the cup defeat which I suppose is good. We’ve got to go out there and make sure we’re up for the battle. I don’t care if we win 10-0 or 1-0, as long as we get the three points - that’s the most important thing.”

BY MARTIN OWENS