STUART McINNES had no complaints as the Wee Sauchie were brushed aside by Lochgelly Albert – dragging his players from "cloud nine to ground zero".

The depleted Juniors never got going in the hostile Fife surroundings as the ruthless home side hit McInnes' men for three.

Sauchie, who were missing five key players after they jetted off on a pre-booked holiday, were dealt a blow before kick off when talisman Danny Kleinman missed the start due to traffic.

Kleinman did step off the bench in a bid to spark the comeback, but a Peter Maxwell penalty miss summed up the day for the Wee County outfit.

McInnes held his hands up in the aftermath of the game and was happy to concede that it just wasn't his side's day.

"It wasn't through a lack of effort," the 38-year-old told Advertiser Sport.

"But it was a hard-fought victory for Lochgelly and we can have no complaints.

"Things got off on the wrong foot from the start and kick off had to be delayed because some of our players were held up in traffic.

"When we did arrive, we got a typically-warm Fife welcome and had to rush the warm up because the referee bowed to pressure and started the game earlier than he should have done.

"It was one of those days where nothing went right for us and we also missed a penalty.

"Going from such a good performance against Rosyth last weekend to the loss on Saturday really took us from cloud nine to ground zero."

The Wee Sauchie were only able to name two substitutes on the bench due to injuries and holiday, with McInnes admitting the lack of options hindered the side.

He revealed he was in talks to bring in a number of loans from East Fife and Alloa in a bid to provide more strength in depth going forward.

But, he once again reiterated that defeats like Saturday are going to be part and parcel of the "learning process" of his young side.

He continued: "We went back to a younger squad against Lochgelly with the likes of Josh Blyth.

"We actually had umpteen chances and hit the post whereas they scored with their three shots on goal.

"But quality-wise, we didn't deserve anything from the game and we were lacking composure in key areas.

"If you said we would be within touching distance of fourth at this stage of the season, I would have bitten your hand off for it."

Meanwhile, McInnes passed on his best wishes to his Sauchie counterpart Martin Mooney, who has had to step down from first team duties for family reasons.

He said: "In all of my dealings with Martin, either as a player of a manager, he has been brilliant.

"I wish him nothing but the best and it is important that football takes a backseat in a time like this."