Fraser Duncan was at a loss to explain how Sauchie managed to throw away a two-goal lead last Saturday after his side went down to Super League rivals Penicuik.

The Wee County side looked comfortable at 2-0, but Penicuik rallied in the second half and fought back to claim the three points, with the manager left to bemoan his team’s failure to protect their advantage.

Duncan told Advertiser Sport: “We were superb in the first half. The boys were fired up and raring to go, and they went out and dealt with everything they had to throw at us in the first half. Tappy should do better to clear their first goal but he is caught in two minds.

“We were 2-0 up and absolutely cruising and I just said to the boys that we needed to see the lead out until half time. We have not managed the game well enough to do that which is disappointing.

"There were opportunities before the goal to get rid of the ball or keep possession and we have given it back to them. I told the boys exactly what to do at half time which was to be direct and play the ball forward quickly. We went out in the second half and Penicuik changed their shape, and we started to panic. We needed people to show leadership and see the game out.”

The game swung in the home side’s favour when Roger Duffin was red-carded for allegedly stamping on a Penicuik player, and Duncan says the decision to send the experienced defender off was a harsh one.

He said: “I don’t want to moan about referees again but it is very, very soft. The boy has had a kick at Roger and he has just tried to move his feet to stand over the top of him. Roger is a very honest guy who wouldn’t lie to you.

"The referee has said he has tried to have a boot at him. I thought he would have to send them both off but he didn’t so it is very disappointing. Even with the sending off, we should still have seen the game out, but we made mistakes.”

Sauchie travel to high-flying Kelty Hearts on Saturday hoping to get a result which would go a long way to securing their top-flight status for next season, with the manager admitting that they are in danger of being sucked into a battle at the basement.

Duncan added: “Kelty on Saturday is huge. If you look at the table we are right in the middle of a scrap. Every single result at the weekend went against us and we are right in the mix now. We have definitely got the squad there to get us out of that battle, but at the moment we are not getting any luck.”