Raith Rovers midfielder Iain Davidson admitted the Kirkcaldy side allowed their standards to slip in the 3-0 defeat to Livingston.
There were 14 points between the teams before kick-off but there was little indication of Rovers’ superior league position as the hosts claimed their first home league win of the season.
Davidson admitted: “We got what we deserved out of the game nothing. The best team won.
“We’ve been defending really well as a team, but we gave away really poor goals,” he added.
“Their use of the ball was better, too. We were very poor with the ball, to be honest.”
Raith fell behind after six minutes when Jordan White climbed above Kevin Cuthbert to head home a looping cross. The Raith keeper claimed a foul, but referee Crawford Allan disagreed.
Rovers had several chances before half-time with Mark Stewart spurning the best of them, firing over from six yards after keeper Marc McCallum dropped a cross.
Grant Anderson also should have netted with a back-post header that he flashed across the face of goal, while Jon Daly saw an effort brilliantly saved by the out-stretched boot of McCallum.
Rovers lost captain Jason Thomson to injury.
Livingston put the game to bed early in the second half with two goals in the space of three minutes.
Declan Gallagher found the net with a powerful header from a corner in the 61st minute before White grabbed his second of the match, firing a volley past Cuthbert after breaking the offside trap.
Raith offered very little after the break, failing to force McCallum into a save of note.
Raith boss Ray McKinnon admitted that his team deserved nothing from the game.
“We certainly weren’t at our best,” he said. “There’s no glossing over it.
“We gave the ball away eight times in the first 10 minutes,” he added.
“The boys are as disappointed as me because they’ve been at it every game this season, and it’s very unlike them.”