Tommy Sloan says his side have to take their medicine and move on from a humbling 5-0 defeat against Hearts.
The Scottish Premiership side inflicted one of Auchinleck’s heaviest defeats at Beechwood – but the Talbot boss says there’s no shame and they must take it on the chin.
A brace from Liam Boyce along with goals from Andy Halliday, Peter Haring and Alex Cochrane ensured the Jambos avoided a disastrous fourth-round Scottish Cup upset in Ayrshire.
And gaffer Sloan said: “The first five minutes we started really well, we put them under a wee bit of pressure. But they settled into a rhythm and managed to get an early goal which is something we were trying to avoid.
“If we’d have got to half time at 1-0 we’d have been happier, but the penalty killed the game and it was damage limitation after that.
“We were better in the second half, the body language wasn’t good in the first half and I told them that in the dressing room.
“The spirit was better in the second half even though Hearts went on to score a few more goals.”
Sloan added: “I went up there and watched them during the week and I knew we were up against it. But you don’t say that in the dressing room before the match.
“There’s no shame in this defeat, 5-0 is probably the heaviest we’ve been beaten but we just need to take it on the chin.
“There’s a gulf in class in these games, at the end of the day we’re not going to win the cup and need to go out at some point.
“The most disappointing thing for me was the fact we lost 5-0 and we had no bookings, I spoke about aggression before the game, I would have liked more of that."
Boyce thought he’d fired his side ahead after just nine minutes but the linesman saved Talbot’s blushes as he flagged for an offside.
But five minutes later the Jambos were in front as Halliday looped a header past Andy Leishman which was sore on Talbot after a competitive start.
Boyce had yet another goal ruled out after 18 minutes as he turned well to score; he was left feeling frustrated as it was chopped off.
Just before half-time, the Hearts No 9 almost got his goal as he fired a shot across goal but it fizzed narrowly wide.
Boyce eventually got his name on the scoresheet as he smashed home a penalty in the 39th minute after a handball in the box.
And Boyce doubled his money just six minutes into the second half as he headed home from close range to send the tie beyond any doubt.
Two minutes later, Graham Wilson had a fantastic chance to pull one back for the hosts but he fluffed his lines and fired over from eight yards.
Haring made it four with 10 minutes to go as he lashed home a powerful effort that left Leishman with no chance.
And it was five of the best as Cochrane tapped home from close range in the 85th minute.
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