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Manager Paul Hartley has branded our 2-1 defeat to Queen of the South at Balmoral Stadium yesterday as a frustrating ninety minutes for the team.

After our impressive win at Montrose a week earlier, Queens scored at the start and end of the first half, then held up fairly comfortably against Cove pressure to clinch the win, despite Tyler Mykyta’s last gasp free-kick.

Paul said: “We didn’t get off to an ideal start. They opened the scoring with their first real chance of the game. I thought we did well after going behind. We had some good opportunities, but we just rushed things.

“We then conceded just before half-time. It was a good strike, but we should have dealt with the build-up better, and not given away the free-kick in a dangerous area.

“To concede a goal a minute or two into the game and then right before the break is far from ideal, and that gave them confidence.

“The second half we huffed and puffed, we didn’t test the goalkeeper enough. Even when they were reduced to ten men, we didn’t do enough, we didn’t create enough. We looked like we were relying on someone getting on the end of a long throw-in or a cross from deep, and it we made it far too easy for them.

“We had plenty of the ball, but that doesn’t win you games, it is what you do with it. We didn’t move it quick enough and we didn’t create enough opportunities.

Defender Will Gillingham was shown a second yellow card deep into the game, which Paul said he was disappointed with: “Will is an experienced player, and he should know better. It didn’t have too much of an effect on the game, but we are now a man down for next weekend’s trip to Alloa.”

Looking ahead to our visit to the Indodrill Stadium, Paul said: “We’ve got to be better next week. Everyone needs to up their game again, and we need to be at our best for the full ninety minutes. We have to defend better and attack better.

“It’s a tough league we are in, and if you aren’t at your best then you’ll be punished. That result needs to be a wake-up call.”

Ticket information for our trip to Alloa will be available in due course.

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