Ross McNeil was shocked that Gartcairn surrendered a three-goal lead against Thorniewood but he ruled out complacency.
The 29-year-old bagged a brace as the MCT Park raced to a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break but the Wood produced a stirring second half comeback on Saturday.
McNeil insists it was a game of two halves but the former East Kilbride striker struggled to explain the turnaround.
He said: “It’s difficult to put your finger on anything because we were absolutely cruising in the first half.
“We could have easily been three or four goals up but it all changed after half-time.
"Credit to Thorniewood because they came out firing and they just went for it because they had nothing to lose.
“They missed a penalty before we missed a penalty. It was all us in the first half but it was the complete opposite in the second - it was the perfect description of a game of two halves.
“I honestly don’t think it was [complacency]. We’ve got a few experienced players that have played at a good level so I don’t think that was the case.
“They just pushed men forward and they got that spark from scoring the opening goal. They had the momentum and we just couldn’t adapt.”
McNeil is in brilliant goalscoring form for the Cairn but he joked that he’s on a hat-trick curse after netting twice in his last three games.
The East Kilbride man missed his hat-trick chance from the penalty spot on Saturday but he insists it’s all about the team and Gartcairn will go top of the West of Scotland Conference B, if they win their game in hand.
“It’s my job to score goals,” McNeil added. “I missed the penalty so I can’t be too pleased but better players than me have missed penalties.
“I’d have been more than happy not to score if we’d have picked up the three points. It’s going well personally but I just can’t seem to get a hat-trick this season.
“I’ve been stuck on two goals for the last three games so maybe that played a part on Saturday.
“Their goalkeeper has apparently saved the last four penalties so he must be an expert.
“I’m happy with my form and if we win our game in hand we go top of the league. Although Saturday was disappointing, we’d have taken sitting top after five games so it’s important that we remember that.
“We just need to keep winning games and we will play worse than we did on Saturday and pick up three points.”
Up next for Gartcairn are two home games against Dalry Thistle, on Wednesday, and Kello Rovers, on Saturday, and McNeil is targeting six points.
He said: “Football is a funny game and it’s a quick turnaround. We need to get over Saturday and ensure that we bounce back with two wins.
“We target a win from every game. That’s not disrespectful to any other team but everyone should approach games looking to win.
“We’ve got a massive couple of games ahead because we want to put that blip on Saturday right.”
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