Irvine Meadow co-manager Colin Spence admitted his side were second best as they lost 3-1 to Auchinleck Talbot at the weekend.

Meadow went into the South Challenge Cup tie on the back of four defeats to the Bot already this season.

That run included a 2-1 away loss to Talbot last weekend on Premier Division duty.

Meddas’ luck against the Bot did not get much better on Saturday as they quickly found themselves behind at Meadow Park.

Gareth Armstrong headed in from a corner to put the away side ahead in the fifth minute.

It looked as if the Bot would be taking the lead into the break but for a dramatic late equaliser from the hosts.

Callum Gow heading in to ensure the teams went in level at 1-1.

In the second half, Talbot regained their lead.

Bryan Boylan’s shot was well saved by Marc Waters before Aidan Wilson turned in the rebound.

The Bot then sealed their victory deep into injury time when Jamie Glasgow beat the offside trap, rounded Waters and tapped in.

The result sees Medda pick up their fifth loss to Talbot this season and be dumped out of the cup at the fourth round stage.

Speaking to the Times, Spence said: “It was a flat affair at the weekend.

“It was almost as if we had played each other too much, the game did not have much life throughout.

“But there was no doubt that we were second best.

“It was probably the worst we have played against Auchinleck this season.

“We made the goals too easy for them to score, so it was a disappointing day all round.”

Meadow have the chance to bounce back quickly when they face Clydebank at Meadow Park tomorrow night.

After their cup disappointment, Spence is hoping to get a run of results together now in the league.

He said: “The team has been affected in recent weeks with Covid and players being cup tied.

“So we have been chopping and changing things but hopefully we can go for a run in the league now with a settled team.”