Arthurlie boss Duncan Sinclair blasted his side’s ‘schoolboy’ defending after a 3-2 loss at home to Renfrew saw them crash out of the Sectional League Cup.
It was a nightmare start for Lie as the visitors opened the scoring inside 10 minutes before going on to add number two and three in quick succession as Sinclair’s side crumbled.
Frew continued to dominate proceedings as the first-half wore on with the hosts fortunate to go in trailing by just the three at the interval.
Although there were no changes at the break, Sinclair’s half-time pep talk seemed to do the trick as it was a completely different Arthurlie that appeared for the second period.
Ross Urquhart controlled a low cross before firing home his first competitive goal for the club to reduce the deficit and hand his side a lifeline.
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Not long after that, it looked to be game on as Martin Curran finished well only to be denied by the assistant’s flag despite appearing to be well onside.
Youngster Tony Etherson added Lie’s second at the death but Arthurlie’s spirited second-half comeback came up short as Frew held on to book their spot in tonight’s quarter-final.
Sinclair said: “We simply cannot defend like we did in the first-half. It was schoolboy stuff from us to hand them a three-goal lead so early on with daft mistakes. It was a very frustrating night.
“Renfrew are a very good team so you just can’t give them a three goal head start. We came out and absolutely hammered them after the break with two goals and a number of chances.
“We asked them to go out and win the second-half and they did, it was, unfortunately, just not enough. I do have to praise the effort and determination to get themselves back into it. We actually battered them and played some lovely stuff, but it was too little too late as we had already thrown it away in the first 45.”
With Saturday’s league match against Renfrew abandoned due to the weather, Sinclair admits that Monday night’s cup loss only added to his frustration and hopes his side can get back to winning ways this weekend against Blantyre.
READ MORE: Lie boss not getting carried away despite pre-season form
He added: “Saturday being called off only adds to the frustration.Three points in that one would have put us right back up the table and would have seen us go into Saturday’s game confident.
“Currently sitting with three points and out of the League Cup doesn’t look good on paper but it doesn’t tell the whole story. We’ve played well enough to win the games we’ve lost.
“We’re looking forward to the Blantyre match now. What we showed in the second-half against Renfrew was really good so I’m hoping we can kick on from that and get a good three points away from home.”
Elsewhere, Lie have been handed a tough Macron Scottish Junior Cup second round tie against Prem side Beith.
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