Peterhead boss David Robertson stressed the positives despite shipping three late goals in the 3-0 defeat to Airdrieonians at Balmoor Stadium.
It was a fairly even first-half, with both sides registering decent chances, but the big talking point from the opening 45 minutes was a missed Airdrie penalty, saved by Tom Ritchie.
After a competitive second-half, Peterhead looked like they were on track to go unbeaten in two games before Airdrie scored three late goals – with the first coming in the 84th minute, followed by the 88th and then a 90th minute penalty.
Callum Gallagher headed home a corner at the back post for the first goal before Callum Smith hit home the second with a shot from a tight angle at the byline, that trickled over the line.
Airdrie were gifted the third goal as referee Lloyd Wilson pointed to the spot for the second time when Danny Strachan took down Ben Stanway, and Charlie Telfer sent Ritchie the wrong way to make it 3-0
Despite the loss, Robertson – who has made five new signings since he became boss – was happy with what he saw for the majority of the 90 minutes, saying there is plenty to build on for upcoming games.
The Blue Toon boss said: “For 88 minutes there were a lot of good things there. Performances are getting better each week – the first two games were a disaster.
“Kieran (Shanks) came in for his first game and it wasn’t until the second half he showed what he can do. Glenn (Gabriel) tired a bit and obviously hasn’t played too much football.
“There were a lot of positive things but we switched off from a corner kick. As we’re bringing players in, the others have got to rise to the challenge. Most of them have but one or two are stuck, because of the results.
“We’ve got more players coming in this week and we’ll definitely have one available for Dunfermline next week. I said to the players we’re playing against a team in Airdrie who’ve had the same players for the whole season.
“We’re trying to get there and it’s a slow process. Three-nil is disappointing. We tried to push the game and as soon as we did, lost a goal straight away.
“Tom Ritchie stepped up – he’s been fantastic since we’ve been here. He’s had a lot of disappointments but was rightly the best player on the park.
“The players are positive and there’s a freshness about the whole thing. We’ll get a few more slaps in the face before the end of the season but it’s about how you recover from them.”
Positive signs at Balmoor
There were chances for Andy McDonald, Daniel Fosu and Kieran Shanks in the first-half, but the former failed to hit the target, while the two other attempts were saved by Airdrie keeper Josh Rae.
The away side had their own chances with Gabriel McGill’s header denied by Ritchie from point-blank range, before the Aberdeen loanee saved Smith’s penalty and Telfer’s attempt on the rebound.
In the second-half, the Blue Toon’s Jordan Brown and Airdrie’s Deveney both tried their luck from outside the box, but both attempts were comfortably saved by the respective goalkeepers.
Before the flurry of goals, there were shouts for a penalty from the home fans after some nice link-up play between Fosu and Andy McCarthy sent Shanks bursting into the box – where he was brought down by keeper Rae, but referee Wilson waved play on.
Peterhead will show ‘fight and desire’ to climb off the bottom
The 3-0 defeat leaves Peterhead bottom of the table, two points behind Clyde who they play in a fortnight – and before that basement battle, the Blue Toon travel to league leaders Dunfermline Athletic.
Robertson says there are games his side must win if they’re to reach safety in League One, and believes they will be in a better position to do that with a positive fighting attitude.
He said: “There are certain games you have to try and win, like when we play Clyde. We go to Dunfermline next week and you never know what’s going to happen.
“I’m sure playing against a full-time team at East End Park, the boys will rise to it.
“They are more vocal in the dressing room and after the Airdrie game there was a lot of disappointment at the end of the game.
“There’s been a lot of negativity this season, for whatever reason, and you’ve got to take the good things out of the game on Saturday.
“We’ve got to make sure that when we step on the pitch, we’re ready and got a plan. I just think we need more strength in depth. Jack (Brown) and Boris (Melingui) coming in caused problems but the squad is going to get bigger.
“Andy McCarthy was fantastic again. He’d lost his way a little bit but Ian (Esslemont, assistant manager) said to him last week that he was brilliant. He said he could play better and to be fair, he did.
“As long as everyone stays positive – there’s disappointment but for 88 minutes they were great. If you look back at the Edinburgh game, it was finished in five minutes. We showed a lot of fight and desire and that’s what’s going to get us off the bottom.”
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