After St Andrews United's 1-0 loss to Leith Athletic, boss Robbie Raeside admits his team 'must be more streetwise'

After missing a series of first half chances, United trailed to Martin Maughan’s goal just before half-time and then the hosts ‘panicked’ in a poor second half display – during which Cammy Lumsden was red carded after receiving a second yellow card for retaliation – to put them out of the promotion spots, in fourth on 33 points from 15 matches and a point behind third-placed Camelon Juniors.

“I was frustrated because I think if we’d taken one of our chances first half it would have been a totally different game,” Raeside said.

"We weren’t brilliant first half but I thought we were a good seven out of ten as a team performance.

"Going up the hill we had good chances, created some decent play and it’s not easy when a team’s sitting in with 11 men behind the ball.

"We just never took our chances.

"In the second half we let the frustration of the situation get on top of us and into our heads.

"I said to the players at the end: ‘You need to play with your wits’. Leith deliberately time wasted and killed the game, boys were going down injured and that was why there were seven minutes of injury time.

"But Leith were entitled to do that, that was their game plan. We had to take that on the chin, be mentally tough enough to get over that and not get frustrated.

"Whereas we ended up with a sending off for a petulant kick and three yellows for dissent, so that was a big disappointment for me.

"In the second half we went too long, too early every time, there was no balance.

"The goalie didn’t look to play it out from the back, the back players stopped going and taking the ball from the goalie, the midfield players stopped going and showing for the ball, so it was like a panic and a rush.

"But we are a young team and we’ll learn from it.”

Saints get a break from league duty this Saturday as they visit Kennoway Star Hearts in the Challenge Cup fourth round, kick-off 1.30pm.