BossKerrdelightedbyresponsefromtable-toppers
Whitehill Welfare .... 0 East Kilbride ............ 3
Paul Thomson
Brian Kerr watched his East Kilbride side return to the top of the Lowland League – then challenged them to extend their lead at the summit.
The Kilby gaffer was thrilled with his side’s response to last week’s shock cup defeat to Jeanfield Swifts, as they edged past Whitehill Welfare at Rosewell.
Craig Malcolm netted after two minutes and Ross McNeil’s double from the bench maintained EK’s 100 per cent start to the campaign.
They now lead Civil Service Strollers by two points, but ahead of the visit of Stirling University tonight and a trip to Edinburgh University on Saturday, Kerr called on Kilby to further their advantage.
He said: “I spoke with the players during the week about how important it was to get back to winning ways and now we are top of the table again, with games to come where we can extend that lead.
“We want to get maximum points from these matches coming up and try to open up a bit of a gap.
“It was a great reaction from the boys on Saturday.
“They took a bit of criticism last week and they have responded in the right manner.
“Whitehill is a tough place to go and it will be hard for any team to come away with three points from there this season, so that is pleasing.”
Kilby took the lead inside 120 seconds when Anton Brady whipped a ball into the box and Jamie Longworth left it for Malcolm to knock home.
But it wasn’t until the introduction of McNeil in the 65th minute that the visitors gave themselves some breathing space.
Within 10 minutes of replacing Longworth, McNeil slotted the ball home from Paul Woods’ cut back and five minutes from time McNeil completed his brace, latching on to BJ Coll’s through ball and rounding the keeper for a simple finish.
Kerr admits he would understand if his striker felt aggrieved not to be starting, having bagged a double in EK’s last league outing against Vale of Leithen, but reckons his omission from the starting line-up was the right call.
He added: “Sometimes you have to assess who is right for the game and the conditions.
“It’s a tight pitch and we know Jamma is good at holding the ball up, but Ross has great pace so at a point when we could see Whitehill tiring, bringing him on to run in behind worked well. I’m pleased for Ross.”
EK will have goalkeeper Matt McGinley back in the squad for this week’s fixtures after missing the game to attend a friend’s wedding.
Kerr added: “All the holidays and weddings that were booked in have now passed, so the squad should settle down and we’ll have a steady team.”
P EAST KILBRIDE 5 CS Strollers 6 Spartans 5 Cumbernauld Colts East Stirlingshire Kelty Hearts Gretna 2008 Vale of Leithen Edusport Academy Stirling University Edinburgh Uni BSC Glasgow Dalbeattie Star Gala Fairydean Rvs Whitehill Welfare Selkirk W 5 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 D 0 1 2 0 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 0 0 0 L 0 1 0 2 1 1 2 2 0 1 2 2 3 4 5 3 GD 22 7 9 0 9 6 2 0 3 -4 0 -2 -5 -6 -18 -23 PT 15 13 11 9 8 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 5 3 0 0
Other results BSC Glasgow 2 Kelty Hearts 3; Dalbeattie Star 2 East Stirling 2; Edinburgh Uni 0 Gala Fairydean Rovers 1; Vale of Leithen 6 Gretna 2008 1; Stirling Uni 1Edusport Academy 1.