Gary Naysmith: Boss frustrated at manner of Stenhousemuir's defeat to East Fife

The Warriors were a goal to the good at the break at Ochilview through Matty Yates smart finish, but two second-half goals from Alex Ferguson and Scott Shepherd sealed the three points for the Fifers.

“The first-half showing was probably the best we have had since I joined the club,” a perplexed Naysmith told the Falkirk Herald. “We were on the front foot and we were completely dominant. The players got a little bit of praise at half time, but they were well warned that East Fife would come out and have a go at us.

“I don’t think they did anything particularly clever in the second half, they just squeezed the game a little bit more, but through ourselves making bad choices, the game completely turned on its head. We didn’t put in the same level of performance in the second half, that is for sure.

“It is a game that we should have won. That is the frustrating thing. When you are only a goal ahead at the break after being so dominant you always have that worry that the other team will have a spell of pressure – but I don’t think they actually had to work very hard to get back into the match.

“This is the one that has hurt me the most (since joining) because I felt we were very good and at the break it felt like it was going to be a Stenhousemuir victory but credit to East Fife because they got in and about us and we weren’t at the races. We lost a game that we should never have lost.”

The boss was angered by his side’s lack of defensive awareness in the second half, which is what has been the solid foundation of his successful spell so far in charge of the club.

He added: “There was nothing Jay (Cantley) could have done about both the goals. The players in front of him need to be doing better at blocking crosses and putting their bodies on the line.

“If you aren’t marking bodies inside your own six-yard box then you are looking to get yourself into serious bother. We need to look back at it and work out why it went wrong. It was so disappointing.

“We had a real chance to open up a gap on Elgin, Forfar and East Fife and we didn’t take it through our own doing, it wasn’t down to what East Fife done in the game. Those results elsewhere made it doubly bad for us but it is what it is.”

Next up for the Warriors is a trip to Elgin City on Saturday as they look to climb back into the play-off spots.

“Kane Hester is of course who you first think of but they have a squad of good players,” Naysmith said ahead of the game. “They were 1-0 up down in Annan and a sending off helped turn the game in the home side’s favour.

“It will be a difficult game for us and there is a lot of travelling going up there. Something I have brought in to the club is a pre-match meal for games like this so the players will get something to eat halfway and I think that will help us.

" Our preparations begin a wee bit earlier and we leave earlier but I think it will really benefit us to have an extra level of professionalism.”