Cowdenbeath boss Jimmy Nicholl admits he was left totally shattered by his side’s abject performance against fellow Championship strugglers Alloa Athletic.
After watching the Blue Brazil crash to their sixth defeat in eight games and then the Wasps moving into eighth position above Cowden on goal difference, he said: “I cannot fathom how the same players who did so well at Dumbarton totally failed to put on any sort of performance in such an important home game.”
Passes went astray at will as the Fifers who won so well at Dumbarton the previous week played second fiddle to a side that had not won a league game in 2015.
The opening goal came in 64 minutes when a 22-yard volley from Mark Docherty flew past home keeper Robbie Thomson, who had by this stage made several good saves.
Then 13 minutes later Kevin Cawley fired home a rocket 25-yard shot to double the Alloa lead.
There was no way back for the Fifers who now face Hearts, Rangers, Hibs and Queen of the South in their next four games.
“The first half play was very disjointed and we did not pose them enough problems but at least at the break we were still level,” said Nicholl, pictured.
“However, in the second half we allowed ourselves to get caught on the break and we made too many errors.
“It was a very poor performance at the wrong time and now we have big problems. Indeed, our home form is horrific.”
The manager was talking about a run of fixtures that includes Hearts away, then home games against Rangers and Hibs and then a trip to Dumfries to play Queen of the South.
“We had the chance to extend the gap between ourselves and Alloa to six points but let it get away from us and we are now going to have to steel ourselves to get results against top half clubs,” he added.
Wasps boss Barry Smith was relieved to get the win which lifted his side out of the bottom two, albeit on goal difference.
“It has been a long time in coming but I felt we were very much worth the three points,” said Smith, the former Dundee manager.
“The lads battened down the hatches and defended very well and at the other end we played some good stuff and carved out some excellent chances.
“Maybe our finishing at times was sloppy but the two goals we scored were worthy of winning any match. But no one is getting carried away. It is only one win .”