St Cuthbert Wanderers good run of form came to an end on Saturday.
The Kirkcudbright side had won three of their last four games until they were put to the sword by title chasing Lochar Thistle.
Craig McKeand and Iain Anderson hit the woodwork before Lochar took the lead, Anderson scoring from the spot after a handball in the box.
The same man got the second just before the interval before competing his hat-trick in the second half, Saints later taking advantage of an error at the back to score a consolation goal through Darrel Wilson.
Saints boss Josh Gardner said: “If I’m being honest Lochar were more than deserving of their win.
“The penalty was given for a handball which I thought was harsh. We spoke to a couple of Lochar players at the time and they thought it was harsh as well but by the laws of the game it was probably a penalty – it just seems like one of those grey areas we have with the handball rule at the moment.
“But it came from a corner and we should have been dealing with that better.
“The second goal looked offside and the third goal was a bit of quality from Iain Anderson. You can’t give guys like him too much space and time.
“Lochar deserved to win the game and we just didn’t defend properly on the day. We had a few chances to maybe put more on the scoresheet but we wouldn’t have deserved anything.
“If the second is called offside, at 1-0 down you’re more than in it. At 2-0 down we were in it as well and we did come out and make a fight of it, but they’ve got the third then we’ve got the consolation. We huffed and puffed towards the end to make it uncomfortable but we didn’t do enough to win the game and Lochar were more than deserving of their win.”
Saints now have just two league games left this season and have a free weekend before they face Dalbeattie Star in the Utility Hut South of Scotland Challenge Cup on Wednesday night.
Gardner said: “That was our last Saturday game of the season.
“We then have Dalbeattie on the Wednesday night in the cup, then away to Stranraer the following Tuesday and Wigtown the following Wednesday. If we don’t go through in the cups that’ll be our fixtures done so we’ll need to see how it pans out.”
