'It was a massive setback for us' - Tayport player-boss Daryl McKenzie admits after Dundee St James loss

Tayport player/boss Daryl McKenzie was left angered by his side's display in their 1-0 defeat on Tuesday night (Photo: Ryan Mashader Photography)

Tayport player/boss Daryl McKenzie admits his side’s 1-0 home defeat to Dundee St James on Tuesday night in the McBookie East Region Midlands League was a “massive” setback.

The Canniepairt side are now stuck in eighth place on 50 points from 29 outings, and are now also ten points behind seventh-placed Dundee East Craigie, with the boss saying any chance of going above eighth position is ‘now probably gone.’

Speaking to the Fife Herald, he said: “I think our ceiling is now eighth in all honestly. We have seven matches left now and it is a case of playing the games out and making sure we finish where we are at the moment.

"We didn’t play anywhere near to our levels on Tuesday night and it was a classic junior match. They rode their luck at times, but you need that sometimes as a team down the bottom of the league, and the simple fact is that they won the game.

"The goal gave them something to hold onto and they managed to do that. We had enough chances to win the game comfortably but we didn’t take them and we ran out of steam in the end.

"Tuesday night feels like a massive set-back for us. It is a stark reminder of the change that is needed here. We need to get to the summer now and start again.”

McKenzie was however happy with side’s performance last Saturday, despite going down 4-2 away to leaders Carnoustie Panmure.

"I was actually really happy with how we played on Saturday,” he said. “We lost the game but we played well for long spells and it was a real performance. They scored two penalties late on and both of them were dubious fouls.

"Considering they are the team that will go and probably win the division, I had no qualms with our performance against them. We showed good character and with a wee bit of luck we would have taken something from it.”

Tayport now travel to rivals Lochee United this Saturday on league duty, with the hosts in fifth spot currently.

“We are old rivals from the back in the day and Thomson Park is a tough place to go,” McKenzie said. “We’ll go there with the aim of winning the game."

Meanwhile, Newburgh Juniors drew 1-1 with Stirling University last Saturday at home in their East of Scotland Second Division outing.