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At the start of the week I’d have bitten your hand off for three points so for it to come into fruition, we certainly just take our good fortune on the day and move forward.
Listen, as football goes, you sometimes think you’ve been through it all. And between all the years of experience in our dugout, there’s no doubt it probably sets you up for most things. However this past week it’s safe to say it was certainly on the unique side.
Concentrating on the game though, it almost felt like the proverbial game of two halves. In the first forty five, I felt we started really brightly creating the better of the chances. But when you don’t take them you leave yourself wide open. After a couple of incredible stops from Dalkeith’s number one and a few head scratching misses, the hosts took the initiative with near enough their first shot on target and we find ourselves behind in the game. You can’t help but think to yourself, even with so much football still to be played, if it’s just going to be one of those days in Dalkeith again. With Grado (Grant Wilson) leading the line however and aided by Joycey (Michael Joyce) and Harry (McGill) who were both in menacing form, I knew the game still had plenty of moments left in it if we stuck to the task at the top end of the pitch. So there was no panic. We draw level just before half time at a really crucial point through Stewart Robertson who I think just about covered every blade of grass and at that point I felt we had the upper hand going into the break.
But for all my own personal head scratching in the first half my counterpart in the opposite dugout would’ve been scratching his own come the final whistle. I’ve always tried to be as balanced as possible in these after match notes so if truth be told we just never really kicked on after the break. I said to the group at the end we’ve no doubt played much better in Dalkeith and come away with nothing in the past so to grab all three in the dying minutes once again shows the character in the changing room. So huge credit must be given to them for their perseverance. Cal (Callum Mackenzie) puts in a commanding display throughout and Kivi (Kyle Kivlichan) comes up with another important goal. Ross (Coats) between the sticks with more minutes under his belt also shows his qualities so there were definitely positive aspects across the pitch. There were some real moments of quality in the first half and in the second we had to show a different side to us to get it over the line. So I’m proud of them for that.
We’ve got a lot of work to do, but the boys know this although it certainly helps with another league win under the belt, especially at such a tough venue. Saturday sees us take another break from league action. Our reward for beating premier side Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts draws us up against another high flying first division side in Whitburn. There’s certainly no let up for the lads but they will no doubt give it their best shot once again!