Peterhead suffered a weekend to forget as they lost key players and goals in a 2-0 defeat by Stranraer at Stair Park.
The Blue Toon, already down to a threadbare squad for the long trip, lost another three players in a day to forget against their League Two rivals.
Player co-manager Jordon Brown said: “When it’s a game of few chances the first goal is so key. We had a couple of half chances but nothing really clear cut.
“On top of that we lost numerous bodies. We lost Joe McKee early and only had three subs.
“Andy McCarthy got sent off then Rory McAllister suffered a hamstring injury as well which meant we effectively finished the game with nine men.
“It was a really frustrating weekend all round.”
The Blue Toon made the long journey to Stranraer early in the hope of getting a result but Brown and Strachan were left frustrated at conceding goals at the start of each half in what was a really poor showing.
Brown said: “We spoke about concentration before the game. It happened on Tuesday as well against Dumbarton but we managed to recover and win that game.
“But away from home, when it’s been a long journey and it’s a tricky pitch, you don’t want to be chasing games.
“We’ve had a run on grass pitches right through the winter period and not dealt with it well. We fully got we deserved as we were poor.”
Blue Toon punished for defensive slackness
The home side opened the scoring in the sixth minute when James Dolan picked out Chris Johnston in the box and he evaded a Blue Toon challenge before lifting the ball over Peterhead goalkeeper Stuart McKenzie.
In a game of few chances Peterhead’s best chance of an equaliser fell to Hamish Ritchie but his near post shot was saved.
Stranraer doubled their lead in the first minute of the second half. Following a frantic, scrappy opening from both sides Johnston lifted the ball over the visiting defence and Tom Orr raced clear before firing past McKenzie from a tight angle.
McKenzie denied Matty Grant from adding to Stranraer’s lead when a similar move lead to Grant running clear of goal before Blue Toon player co-manager Ryan Strachan fired just wide.
The visitors’ hopes of getting back into the game were dashed in the 86th minute when McCarthy, who had already been booked, was shown a second yellow card for pulling back Scott Robertson.
No positives from long trip for co-managers
Blue Toon co-boss Brown admits his side can have no complaints.
He said: “We went down on Friday night and prepared differently than we did last time but unfortunately it was the same outcome.
“It was one of our poorest performances of the season so it was majorly disappointing.
“If you get an early goal it sets the game up for you, and scoring right at the start of the second half meant everything went exactly as Stranraer would have wanted.
“It killed the game as it left us with an uphill battle of needing two goals.”
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