Shotts boss John McKeown praised his players for giving West of Scotland Premier Division leaders Clydebank a tough game in a 1-0 defeat at Holm Park.
The Bonny are second bottom of the division but held their own against the Bankies, who needed a Nicky Little goal in 73 minutes to see off McKeown’s men.
And he said: “We made a real game of it but it was the story of the season in the end. We’ve been really competing with teams who have big squads and big resources, but we’ve just lacked that quality when we get our chances and we, inevitably, get punished late on when we get tired or lose concentration.
“I could pinpoint five or six games where that has happened this season. But what I can’t fault is their effort and commitment – they are a great bunch of lads.
“Clydebank were away playing Hibs at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup the previous week and then we rock up to their pitch and take them really late in the game.
“The only disappointing thing from our point of view is the goal was really cheap and we had worked so hard up until that point, but we switched off.
“In truth, we didn’t threaten enough and we only had about two or three chances in the match. We had to take the lead for us to have a chance or winning the game. But once Clydebank went in front we didn’t really threaten after that.”
The defeat keeps Shotts three points above bottom side Darvel, within one point of Gartcairn and three behind 13th-place Hurlford.
Shotts now host high-flying Drumchapel United on Saturday looking to add to their one win in 12 games so far.
McKeown added: “The players have still got belief, they are still fighting and scratching. As long as they keep showing that desire we will still be in with a fighting chance.
“Drumchapel is another team right up there with big resources. If we go about it with the same effort and desire, we’ll give ourselves a chance. We have to fight as hard as we can for one another and scrape some points out to get us up that table.”