Arbroath No.2 Ian Campbell says his side need to “get our act together” after their 2-0 defeat to Ayr United saw them slip to the bottom of the Championship.
A Ben Dempsey penalty on 70 minutes and a late Jayden Mitchell-Lawson strike saw the Honest Men come away with all three points.
The result sees Lee Bullen’s side remain top of the league, while the Lichties slumped to the foot of the table after Hamilton’s remarkable comeback against Cove Rangers.
It could have all been different for the home side if Bobby Linn’s early shot found the net rather than crash off the post.
Arbroath ‘not good enough’
The home side pushed for an equaliser but were punished as the visitors burst up the field late on.
Campbell felt his side were worthy of a point but were left to rue their missed opportunities.
“I think we were better than Ayr who are top of the league,” he said. “But they are scoring and we aren’t.
“We’re just not good enough to break teams down just now.”
Campbell had no complaints over the penalty decision, with Colin Hamilton tripping Mitchell-Lawson in the box.
“It was a bad penalty to give away. Colin Hamilton is probably one of the top two or three defenders in the league,” he said. “But we gave the ball away before that which is criminal.
“I think the result reflects the league, we are not where we want to be and we don’t have the finishing ability to be where we want to be just now.
“Ayr United are strong, all credit to them because they are desperate to win. They are a good side.
“But we seriously need to get moving. Our goals for isn’t where we want it to be, but there’s nothing in the league and the picture will change by Christmas.
“We need to get our act together because it’s unacceptable as far as we are all concerned.
“We certainly need to improve dramatically.”
Ayr reaction
Meanwhile, The Honest Men gaffer Lee Bullen spoke of his delight at another win on the road.
He was pleased his side were able to withstand early Arbroath pressure.
He said: “There were times in the game where we had to keep ourselves in it, Arbroath were the better side early in the match and Bobby Linn hit the post.
“We created chances and worked their goalkeeper, nobody goes up to Arbroath and gets an easy game, they made us work hard.
“It’s a massive win, you can see how tight the league is.
“There’s only two points between the top six prior to the game, every win is vital in this league, going to Arbroath is probably one of your hardest away games.”
