Peterhead boss David Robertson was left to sift through the wreckage after an excellent first 59 minutes was undone by a calamitous last 31 at Falkirk on Saturday.
While losing away from home to second-placed Falkirk was hardly a shock result for a bottom of the table outfit that hasn’t won away all season, there was still plenty of frustration for the visitors after they shipped five goals in the final third of the match.
Three of those were scored by Bairns sub Craig McGuffie, who completed his quick-fire hat-trick with a 93rd-minute penalty as Falkirk stretched their unbeaten league run to 12 games.
😵💫Have been watching this on repeat for *checks watch* 13 hours.#McGuffieForPuskas pic.twitter.com/ZwhgFiZNw7
— Falkirk FC (@FalkirkFC) March 5, 2023
“The longer the game stays at 0-0, the tougher it gets for the home side and they maybe start to doubt themselves,” said Robertson.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t have kept it goalless for a bit longer and got the Falkirk fans feeling more and more nervous, but it was always going to be difficult for us once we lost the first goal.
“We feel our performances have been getting better and we’ve been staying in games for longer, but this result has shown us exactly where we are.
“We went in there with no pressure on us and with the belief that we could take something from the game, but Falkirk are a fantastic footballing side and they showed that in the last half hour.”
Saturday’s stats made grim reading for Peterhead fans as those who made the long trip south watched their team concede 70 per cent of the possession while they mounted a desperate rearguard action.
It took fully 85 minutes for January signing Daniel Fosu to muster the visitors’ one and only attempt on the home goal, and the aggregate score in three meetings this season is now 12-1 in Falkirk’s favour.
Robertson has tasted victory only once in his 11 games as manager, but the former Aberdeen, Rangers and Scotland full-back has no doubt what the main problem is.
“We’ve brought in ten new players and let another 12 go,” he pointed out.
“You’re playing against teams who are settled when it’s almost like a pre-season for us.
“It’s taken time to gel everyone together and get used to each other.
“The Kelty game was the first time that we’d played everyone in their correct position.
“Before that, we always had to have someone helping out somewhere.”
Your #BlueToon line up for today’s @cinchuk match against @FalkirkFC!#BlueToon 🔵⚪️💙 pic.twitter.com/rO11YyoAU2
— Peterhead FC (@pfcofficial) March 4, 2023
Ninth-placed Clyde also lost on Saturday, going down 2-0 at Montrose, so the gap remains two points at the foot of the table.
The bad news for a team in dire need of points is that Peterhead’s next opponents, at Balmoor this Saturday, are League One leaders Dunfermline.
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