Dougie MacDuff admitted he was 'absolutely raging' after Irvine Vics suffered a 3-2 opening day defeat against Larkhall Thistle.
The Westenders boss felt his side created enough chances to win TWO games during Saturday's West of Scotland League Division Three clash.
He insists a combination of a poor finishing and dismal defending allowed Larkhall to leave Ayrshire with all three points.
A Lewis McCracken own goal gifted the visitors the lead at Victoria Park, very much against the run of play.
Goals from Justin Smith and John McLaughlan either side of half-time turned the match back in Vics' favour, but their lead was short-lived as Connor Phairs struck twice to hand Larkhall victory.
MacDuff admitted the manner of the loss was horribly reminiscent of last season but vowed that repeat performances won't be tolerated.
He said: "We were by far the better team. We had enough chances to win two games.
"To boss the whole game and lose 3-2 is really disappointing to say the least. I'm absolutely raging to be honest.
"At the end of the day though, our defending in wide areas wasn't good enough and we've paid a heavy price for a lack of quality finishing.
"It's really frustrating because the message to the players has been make sure we're hard to beat at home.
"We could make excuses last year but not this year and I've made the players aware of that.
"If players aren't performing then the boys on the bench will get their chance. We've got good competition for places."
Vics passed up a host of chances in the opening exchanges, the best falling to Kevin Adam who squandered a one-on-one with the Larkhall goalkeeper.
Disaster struck in the 21st minute however when Vics full-back McCracken turned a cross into his own net.
The home side immediately went back on the front foot and eventually got the reward their dominance deserved when Smith netted an equaliser from close range five minutes before half-time.
Vics looked to have found their groove when McLaughlan put them 2-1 in front with a cool finish from the edge of the box in 50 minutes.
But Phails pounced on another cross two minutes later to restore parity before snatching what proved to be the winner just after the hour mark.
Vics hit the crossbar late on after an almighty goalmouth stramash as they desperately tried to salvage a point.
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