Sauchie hero Iain Syme was gutted to have missed out on silverware but insisted his side could repeat their heroics next season.

The Beechwood Park side lost out in the final of the Fife and Lothians Cup to rivals Camelon in Bathgate on Saturday.

Despite dominating the second half, the Juniors failed to find an equaliser, and Syme admitted the team’s performance on the day was disappointing.

He said: “The cup final was a massive disappointment for us. Collectively we just did not perform, it is as simple as that. Camelon came out and really bossed us from the off and imposed themselves on the game.

“We didn’t get the breaks we needed at times, but neither did we reach the levels we are capable of and that is maybe the biggest disappointment for us.

“Daz came on in the second half and gave us a little spark which he always does. It’s disappointing that that’s his last game for us as he’s away to Bo’ness next year. He’ll be a big loss but we have to move on.

“It feels like we’ve gone out with a bit of a whimper in the end but we just need to take it on the chin. As the gaffer has said, what a season we have had. We were relegation candidates at the start of the season but we’ve finished fifth and got to a cup final which is really good for the club.

“The fans have been fantastic, so it was disappointing that we couldn’t do it for them but at the same time, they were cheering us on even when we were coming off after the defeat today, so hopefully they stick by us next year.” Despite defeat to Camelon, Syme felt Sauchie’s semi-final victory over Linlithgow Rose would spur them on to further success next season.

He said: “Since I’ve been at the club, we’d never beaten any of the big teams so to go and play Linlithgow off the park last week, even though they’re going through a bit of a transition, is brilliant for us.

“We played really well and we were thinking that if we did the same again today we would win but it never seemed to materialise. But we’ll take that performance into next season as it shows that we are capable of stepping up against the big teams. Maybe it was just a case of one game too many for us.” The full-back expressed his delight after it was confirmed he would remain at Beechwood Park for at least another season.

Syme added: “I’m delighted to have signed on for next season. I’m happy here, I love it. I hope we can have a strong team again next season.”