STRANRAER manager Chris Aitken says he had to ‘look at the bigger picture’ after his side lost to League Two strugglers Forfar on Tuesday night, bringing to an end a three match winning run.
The visitors snatched three points under the lights at Stair Park after a 2-1 victory with the last kick of the ball.
Ryan Edgar put Stranraer ahead, but Craig Slater equalised in the remaining stages. And Bradley Rodden scored from the penalty spot in the 94th minute to secure the points for the Loons.
At the weekend, however, Stranraer beat high flyers Edinburgh City 1-0 away from home to make it three wins on the spin, thanks to a Craig Ross goal in the second half.
On the capital fixture, Aitken said: “The game plan and everything we went with all worked to a tee.
“They’re a top team and there’s no doubt in my mind that they are going to make the play-offs.
“It was good to see Craig score the goal because his performance deserved that.”
On Tuesday night’s defeat, the manager added: “I’m really disappointed just because of the real vein of form that we’ve been in where the guys have been absolutely magnificent.
“When I look at the bigger picture, my guys deserve a whole lot of credit.
“We’ll go away and we’ll analyse it. In the first half they turned it into a fight, they’re fighting for their lives.
“They just tried to kick it forward and go and play, and for long spells we dealt with it.
“We lost our rhythm in the second half and they end up scoring a free kick and a penalty with the last kick of the ball.
“When I look over the last five or six weeks we’ve been exceptional.
Tuesday night was just a wee bump in the road.”
Tomorrow afternoon title chasing Peterhead make the long journey to Stranraer.
Aitken said: “They’re a top top team coming down. We know it’s going to be extremely difficult.
“It’s about that togetherness, the dressing room is really good, it’s strong and the guys are fighting for each other.
“Whatever 11 I put out, the guys will have each others back. Hopefully we can put on another good performance and get a good result.”
