TEAM co-boss Graham Goodwin admitted bad luck cost them in the away defeat to Edinburgh Academy.
The JR Ashworth Colts went down 49-39 in an incident-packed clash at Armadale on Saturday night.
A stunning 18-point maximum from 15-year-old William Cairns was the highlight.
On a track where passing was at a premium, the teenager put in a flawless performance, often coming from behind, including wins in heats 1 and 13 where he defeated home No.1 Connor Coles on the run into the line.
The depleted Colts – already without Mason Watson (injury), Jack Kingston (illness) and skipper Freddy Hodder (Championship duty) - were further weakened by the loss of Harry Fletcher who broke a collarbone at Sheffield, but the patched-up side put up a huge fight against one of the strongest sides in the NDL.
The Colts' hopes were effectively ended when guest Mickie Simpson crashed out of the meeting in heat 10, as he fell heavily trying to go around Lee Harrison.
With Simpson unable to take his place in heat 14, the home side were gifted a 5-0 in heat 14 when Billy Budd fell and was unable to remount.
To add insult to injury, hard-working guest Danny Phillips also fell when on a 5-1 with William Cairns in heat 15, giving the home side a flattering 10-point win.
Colts co-boss Graham Goodwin said “First of all our best wishes go to Mickie Simpson, who took a really big bang in heat 10.
“The guests all put in a fantastic effort for us, and it was awful to see Mickie’s night ended like that. Our thanks go to Derek Hague for looking after Mickie and giving him a bed for the night.
“There’s not really much I can add about William Cairns. It was a faultless performance from him.
“With a bit more luck and fewer falls, we could easily have won. We were on a 5-1 with Jack Shimelt and Billy Budd in heat 8, which would have taken us into the lead, when Kyran Lyden fell. In the re-run Billy fell and we went down 3-2!
“Owen Booth was riding well in heat 2, but came down battling to regain his third place, and that seemed to affect his confidence a bit.
“Billy also had a number of falls in good positions, but we know this is something we can sort as the season progresses.
“Losing Mickie in heat 10 was a killer blow. We were only three points adrift at the time, but without him it became an uphill task.
“The falls in heat 14 and 15 made the score look a lot different from the reality, but we know we are capable of overturning 10 points for the aggregate bonus when we go back to the National Speedway Stadium.”