Sauchie manager Fraser Duncan was left fuming with the referee after his side were denied what looked like a clear penalty against reigning Super League champions Kelty Hearts.

The Juniors boss felt that his side could have gone on to win the game if the spot-kick had been awarded.

And Duncan was also angry about the referee’s decision to show Jordan Tapping a second yellow card in the closing stages of Sauchie’s 2-1 loss.

He told Advertiser Sport: “I felt that we should have had at least a draw out of the game. I think we performed well enough to get a point and a terrible decision from the referee has cost us. It was 1-0 to them when we should have had the penalty and Conor’s goal would have put us in the lead.

“I think if we had taken the lead it would have been a different story. It would have given us a bit of confidence to go on and win the game. We gave away two silly goals and that meant we got beaten. If we hadn’t made those mistakes we would have won the game and nobody would have moaned if we had come away with a point.

“Jordan has put two tackles in and neither time he has made contact, but the boy has gone down like he has been shot both times. It seems to be the case at the moment that if a player makes two fouls he has to get sent off, which is frustrating for me.

“I have to defend him and say I think it was very harsh from the referee, and it’s another case of the officials not showing common sense.” The manager was proud of how his players responded when they bounced back with victory over Fauldhouse at Beechwood Park.

Duncan said: “It was one of those where we haven’t played our greatest but we have managed to grind out the result. We could have let our heads go down after the Kelty result but we haven’t and we have got the result.

“We got the bit of luck we had been missing in previous games. Now I’m delighted to be sitting here with six points from the first three games.” Next up for the Juniors is the visit of Camelon, their conquerors in last season’s Fife and Lothians Cup final, before they host Musselburgh.

Duncan added: “We have two really difficult games this week, but they are both at home so it is a good chance to get some more points on the board.

“Six points is certainly what the boys are aiming for, and I think that would make other teams sit up, give us a bit more respect and realise that we can be a force this year.

“It would be nice for a few of the boys who were here last year to get a bit of revenge over Camelon but just getting a result against them would be nice.”