DUNBAR United manager Geoff Jones said their Scottish Junior Cup exit at the hands of Ayrshire giants Irvine Meadow was a “huge disappointment”.

The Seasiders were thrashed 6-2 as the three-time winners booked their place in the fifth round (see report left).

A disappointed Jones told Courier Sport his side “played the occasion” and failed to do themselves justice.

He added: “We shouldn’t be losing so heavily to anybody with the squad we have.

“We went into the game in great form, confidence was high and I felt that we had a good chance of causing an upset.

“However, the reality is that as a team we never turned up.

“Nobody is more disappointed than the players themselves.

“I asked the guys for 11 massive performances, told them all to be brave, have confidence in themselves and not let emotions affect the game.

“In the end I think I’d give pass marks to three or four players maximum and the rest were unfortunately not at the races.”

Jones was keen to move on, though, and praised the hosts – and their supporters – for their big win.

The 41-year-old added: “Irvine Meadow were filled with experienced junior campaigners and they looked composed and managed the game really well.

“There was also a noisy, hostile crowd and my lads looked nervous and, if I’m honest, a little intimidated.

“It was just a bad day at the office for us, but credit must go to Irvine Meadow as they were the better side.”

The Seasiders boss, the longest-serving juniors manager in East Lothian having taken over in 2014, is hoping his side can use the experience to build for the remainder of their East Premier League campaign.

He added: “I’m not going to be too hard on the lads as they have been phenomenal for months now.

“We’ve been the in-form team in the league since early November and we must look to use Saturday’s defeat as a positive to drive us on for the remainder of the season.

“In the last two seasons we have reached the last 16 and then last 32 of the Scottish Cup, which is a great achievement.

“Saturday’s experience will benefit a lot of my players if they are honest enough to admit to their failings and work even harder to improve. It’s how we respond now that’s important.”