DAVID GRANT was disappointed that Sauchie couldn’t capitalise on their good start as they crashed out of the Scottish Cup.

His side dominated opponents Hurlford United in the opening stages, but were profligate in front of goal, before the balance of the game shifted on account of the visitors’ opener.

The striker reckons that after that, United’s experience helped them through the tie and ended Sauchie’s hopes of a quarter-final place.

Grant told Advertiser Sport: “In the first 20 minutes we were actually the better team but after that, they grew into it and then a silly mistake has cost us the goal.

"After that, their experience helped them through and they were able to see it out.

“We fancied our chances, but to be honest we have let the fans down. If I’m being totally honest we didn’t turn up. It was one of those days where it just didn’t happen for us.”

The former East Stirlingshire forward admitted the squad were gutted in the wake of the loss, but urged his team-mates to forget about their disappointment and focus on Saturday’s trip to Lochee.

He said: “Nobody is hurting more than the players in the dressing room but we need a big reaction this week. We will come in and train hard again, and hopefully if we do that we will be able to come back down the road with three points on Saturday.

“We have 14 league games left so we need to really dig in and start getting results. We need to get some wins on the board and start moving up that table.”

After a good run saw Sauchie improve their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Superleague, Grant insisted that they are fully focused on getting points on the board and making sure of their top-flight survival.

He added: “With the amount of quality players we have now, we shouldn’t be in the position we are in.

"Turning these tough games where we huff and puff into wins is a priority for us now. The main thing is to start picking up points.”