Arthurlie manager Colin Reilly admits his players didn't give themselves a chance on Saturday as they rounded off a disappointing week with a 2-0 defeat at Largs Thistle.

The home team scored after just 40 seconds at Barrfields and added a second before the break.

It brought to an end a run of three fixtures in seven days, with Arthurlie failing to secure a single point.

The Dunterlie Park outfit had been beaten at Irvine Meadow the previous weekend and conceded a 91st-minute goal to lose 2-1 against Glenafton Athletic last Wednesday night.

Reilly was without a number of first-team players on Saturday and named just four substitutes but is confident that, once he has strength in numbers, things will change for the better.

He told Barrhead Sport: “Saturday was difficult. We conceded really early and never really recovered from it.

“It was an uphill task from there and we never really dealt with their threat for long periods of the game and never played to our strengths.

“We were missing seven or eight players for one reason or another.

"Mark Docherty failed a fitness test just before the game, Michael McKinven has a burst eye socket, Conor Bradley has a torn thigh, Ants Eadie is suffering from long concussion, Scott Anson has a fractured leg, Lee Roulston was on holiday and we’re not quite sure what is wrong with Gary Carroll, who is going for a scan this week. It’s either an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or a MCL (medial collateral ligament).

“We’ve got, hopefully, three of them coming back this week, with Lee, Connor and Mark, and we should be bringing in some new faces in the transfer market."

Reilly admits last Wednesday's defeat was "a sore one."

"We never looked like losing," he said. "I thought we were quite comfortable for long periods.

“We had a lot of possession and a lot of chances and the game should have been buried in the first half. To concede in the 91st minute is a hard one to take.

“Once we’ve got boys back, we'll look like a very good side. I’m quite happy with where we are at. We’ve just been carrying too many injuries and have had boys away on holiday recently.”

Arthurlie host Hurlford this Saturday and Reilly has warned his players to expect a tough test.

“I said to the boys that Hurlford will probably be the hardest team they’ll play against," he added.

“They’ve got a lot of quality and are very good on the ball and work hard when they don’t have it.

“We’ll need to prepare well this week because it’ll be a stiff test.”

Kick-off at Dunterlie Park is at 2pm.