FURIOUS Kilwinning Rangers boss Chris Strain this week hit out at two refereeing decisions which cost his side as they lost 3-1 at home to Kilbirnie Ladeside.

But the basement side were left facing an uphill struggle as the visitors were awarded a disputed penalty following a foul by Barry Fleeting. Goalkeeper Adam Strain was sent off for abusive language and Adam Forde netted from the spot to seal victory.

Manager Strain said: "First of all it wasn't a foul and the incident took place outside the box. The referee was 30 yards away but the assistant had a good view, he was just five yards away. I felt the sending off was harsh and that made it difficult for us. Adam was frustrated but he didn't direct any of his comments at the officials and he says he didn't used foul and abusive language."

Asked if he would consider appealing the decision the manager added: "We won't be as the appeal system is a joke."

However he added: "We can't blame everything on referees. The fact is we have to start winning games."

The boss is, however hopeful his side can improve and added: "We are two points behind Largs with three games in hand and six behind Troon with three games in hand so our aim must be to get into third bottom and see where we go from there."

Buffs on Saturday head to Glasgow to face Benburb in the West of Scotland Cup second round and Strain said: "Our form is not good but it's a break from the league and we must aim to get through."

Meanwhile Irvine Meadow are hoping to pull off an upset by defeating higher league rivals Pollok in another West tie.

They warmed up for the game with a 2-0 home win against Shotts Bon Accord in the Super First Division but are still playing down their promotion chances.

Winger Ben Black (18), who was playing with KSC Town Under-19s last season said: "We dug in and got the result. The guys defended well. It was good to bounce back after the Scottish Cup defeat. We are just taking it a game at a time.

"The boys will enjoy playing against a very good Junior team, we will learn from it. Hopefully we can get through. We have a good team spirit and stick together."

Manager Gareth Turner said: "It was good to score two goals and keep a clean sheet. We are obviously delighted as this keeps us in the mix. We just want to get as high up the league as we can. Our target must be to get 34 points and be safe."

Looking ahead he said: "Newlandsfield is a great venue to play football and the pressure is off us as they are favourites. It will be difficult but Meadow won a lot of cup finals at Pollok so hopefully we can cause an upset."