Gartcairn to bounce back after defeat by title rivals

Port Glasgow .....4 Gartcairn ...........1 Andrew Bargh Gartcairn gaffer Gerry Bonham is confident his side will bounce back at the first time of asking against Royal Albert this weekend.

The Airdrie side were in a top of the table clash on Saturday.

Bonham’s side were forced to rue a bad start that left them chasing a three-goal deficit at half-time but the boss was pleased with his team’s second-half response.

He told the Advertiser:“The result is a sore one to take.

“The better team won on the day but it was a game of two halves.

“We didn’t start well and found ourselves chasing the game but we were the better team in the second period.

“We knew what to expect from Port Glasgow as they are a well drilled side.

“But as soon as the first went in we were clawing to get back into it and they exploited our attacking efforts at the back.”

Despite the heavy defeat at the weekend, Gartcairn sit third in the Central District Second Division, only four points off Glasgow Perthshire in top spot.

And as the half-way mark of the season approaches Bonham said:“I’m over the moon with the season so far.

“We’re near the top of the league and still in both cups.

“There have been a few blips here and there but that’s football.

“Some of the teams in this league have been on the go for years and we are competing well ahead of the Christmas break.

“We’re only 11 games into the season so we’ll be aiming to catch the two ahead of us.”

Ahead of the Royal Albert game Bonham revealed he is keen to keep a certain record intact.

He explained:“We haven’t lost two games on the trot all season so we want to keep that going.

“We aren’t taking anything for granted though. They are a good side who had a cracking result at the weekend.

“We’ll go into this game full throttle to make sure we get a result.

“We’ve got a full squad and training has gone well this week so the lads will know how to put that into practice on Saturday.”