Kirkcaldy Rugby Club skipper Fin Smith's stark admission after 'frustrating' home loss to Lasswade

Despite tries by Timmy Kennedy and skipper Fin Smith, plus a penalty and two conversions by Smith, the Blues were defeated at Beveridge Park.

"It was a particularly sore one to lose,” Smith told the Fife Free Press. “We were pretty confident that we were good enough to put them away, but on the day we had a bit of a slow start and it was kind of the same old story at times.

"We struggled to pull ourselves back into the game essentially and we were just chasing the game for the full 80 minutes. It just got out of reach and it was hard to pull it back.

"Lasswade were decent enough but we gave away some pretty soft scores which we’re not too happy about.

"Not having played in the league since December 7 probably played some part in our display.

"We were a bit rusty as expected with most teams round about this level. But it’s not so much of an excuse because we were still good enough to win that game and essentially just didn’t show up on the day unfortunately.

"A few decisions went against us from the referee which happens but we maybe lost our cool. We were already behind and we lost our heads a wee bit.

"So I think there was a lot of frustration and we just let that get in the way.”

Following last weekend’s defeat, the Blues are now fourth in the table with 31 points from 11 matches.

Smith added: “We’re still in a good position. But I think we need one or two wins just to solidify our place in the league and then we can look at the last few games of the year, just enjoy them and play a bit more freely to build towards next season.

"Compared to the last few years, this season has been a massive step forward. Even off the pitch as well, there’s a lot going on at the club behind closed doors.

"The club is a good place to be at the moment and I think expectations from a lot of people from the outside before this season might have been that Kirkcaldy would struggle this year and they might be round about the relegation zone, with two teams being relegated.

"But we’ve pushed on and I think what we showed at the start of the season when we were winning games, we’re capable of doing all year round.

"It’s just about finding consistency. If we get a win or two in the next few games I think we’ll still look back feeling happy about this season as a whole.”

Kirkcaldy continue their league campaign in Wigtownshire at bottom club Newton Stewart this Saturday in a 2pm kick-off.

"I’m quite surprised with how Newton Stewart have been this year because last season they were competing in the top two or three,” Smith said. "They’ve had a bit of a strange season but they were the first team to beat us this year and they’re a bit of a bogey team.

"We’re not going down there expecting an easy game and for them to roll over because we struggle year in, year out at Newton Stewart.

"It’s a three-and-a-half hour bus trip down there, the longest trip of the year.

"The two, three or four teams down the bottom are going to be desperate for wins so we need to find that hunger to try and compete with that.

"Newton Stewart are going to be desperate to stay up so we just need to make sure we go into the game mentally on the same level as they are and pull through essentially.”