Jim McInally insists Peterhead’s defending has to improve if they are to move away from the League 1 relegation zone.
The Blue Toon found themselves 3-0 down to Montrose inside half an hour and trailed 4-1 after an hour.
Although the Buchan outfit rallied later on they were still unable to take anything from an action-packed encounter and as a result sit just three points above Forfar, who occupy the relegation play-off spot.
It’s the second time this season Peterhead have lost 4-3 at Links Park and McInally said: “You can’t give away the goals we give away and expect to win.
“We’ve been to Links Park twice this season scored six goals and haven’t even got a point which is incredible.
“It’s not good enough. The boys do have big hearts and didn’t throw the towel in at any point.
“I’m pleased that we kept going and showed character – but defensively it just wasn’t good enough.
“I can’t complain about attitude, but you don’t win matches defending like that.
“If we’d played at the tempo we did in the second half as we did in the first half I’m sure we wouldn’t have been chasing the game as much.”
The Blue Toon made the worst possible start falling behind after 75 seconds and it came from a disputed throw-in on the Montrose right.
Following the throw Graham Webster clipped a pass into the box for Cammy Ballantyne who drilled home unchallenged from 10 yards.
Webster was the creator of second on the quarter mark with his ballin behind not dealt with by Jason Brown or goalkeeper Greg Fleming which allowed Blair Lyons to round Fleming and score.
Lyons was on target again 12 minutes later breaking through a weak Jamie Stevenson challenge and finding the bottom right corner.
McInally added: “The first goal frustrates me because we were too busy arguing about the throw-in, which was an unbelievable decision because it was our ball, but we shouldn’t switch off.
“The second goal is just a ball over the top that we don’t deal with and then Jamie Stevenson has a fresh air swipe at the ball and they score the third.”
After Alan Cook and Derek Lyle squandered good chances Cook scored a minute before half-time with his 25-yard shot squirming through the hands of Gable Endies keeper Aaron Lennox.
Despite a good start to the second period from the visitors, Montrose’s fourth arrived on the hour with Matty Allan heading home Webster’s free-kick from the right.
Peterhead didn’t give in with Lyle looping a header into the net from Paddy Boyle’s long throw-in on 69 minutes and with 10 minutes left captain Scott Brown set up a grandstand finale by arrowing home a shot from 20 yards.
In the closing stages Jack Leitch lashed over from a Cook corner.
In stoppage time Jason Brown went down under an Andrew Steeves challenge with referee Graham Beaton awarding a penalty before changing his mind after consultation with an assistant then Leitch’s header appeared to strike Andrew Steeves’ arm, but Beaton was unmoved.
McInally said: “It would have been really good if we’d got the penalty at the end.
“Jason’s was a dive, but the Montrose player came in and said it was a penalty, it’s a handball all day.”