Neilston manager Andy Whiteford was left to rue a disastrous few minutes on Saturday that resulted in his team falling to a 3-2 defeat against Kilbirnie Ladeside.

The Farmer’s Boys found themselves behind at the Brig after Ryan Connelly struck for the visitors but Del McNab got them back on level terms from the penalty spot.

Just a couple of minutes after the interval, however, Neilston were suddenly 3-1 behind after a quickfire Nathan Wade brace.

McNab scored another from the spot to set up a tense finale but the hosts couldn’t find an equaliser as they fell to the bottom of the First Division table.

Whiteford’s side are seven points from safety but have several games in hand.

Although he has been encouraged by recent performances, he knows that quickly needs to turn into points.

Whiteford told Barrhead Sport: “We were a bit slow to start the game but we did really well to get ourselves back into it and, in the second part of the first half, we were on the front foot and created chances before getting our penalty.

“At half-time, we were looking for more of the same but we give away two poor goals in the first few minutes of the second half.

“We lose a cheap goal after not clearing our lines and then we don’t set ourselves up properly again and lose another silly goal.

“It’s maybe something we need to look at because we started both halves poorly and suddenly found ourselves 3-1 down and it’s an uphill task from there.

“We got back into the game and we had chances to get something out of it but we didn’t take them, which was disappointing because the guys put a lot of effort in.

“As much as I’ve been pleased with the performances lately, we know the position we are in and that we need points, so it’s really disappointing we aren’t picking them up when we put in reasonable performances.”

This Saturday, Neilston face Thorniewood, who are six points clear of the relegation zone, and Whiteford sees it as an opportunity to pull another team back into the mix.

He explained: “When we play the teams around about us, we need to be picking up points.

“I’ve never been to Thorniewood and had an easy game, so we know what to expect but we’ll be up for the battle.

“After not picking up any points over the last couple of weeks, we are now in a position where that needs to change.”

Kick-off at Robertson Park is at 2pm.