I’m Monti a good thing with Buffs
Land O’ Burns making an honest man of Kilwinning ace Carlo
CARLO MONTI was well clued up on the fact Ayrshire Junior football can be an altogether different ball game, l ong before he signed for Kilwinning Rangers in October 2016.
There were critics who thought the classy No.10 might struggle to make his mark amid the often fierce hurly-burly of encounters between neighbourly factions in the Land O’ Burns after earning his junior stripes during three separate playing stints with Pollok.
However the 27 year old’s transition has been seamless and he is delighting with being an integral part of the Buffs side currently sitting second top of the Super Premier Division pile and preparing to head East today for a Scottish Junior Cup third round tie against East Region Bo’ness United.
He admitted: “I was aware of the fanatical supporters before coming here but their backing really is something else when the team is playing well as we are this season . I know there’s a school of thought that believes we are exceeding expectations but that’s coming from outsiders.
“We have made a good start but the next weeks leading up to the New Year will go a long way to defining our season.
“It’s a critical period yet at the same time our Cup game at Bo’ness is coming as a welcome release from the pressures of trying to pick up league points.”
Monti played against Bo’ness in a pre-season friendly as a Pollok player and recalls them as being a very physically powerful side. He said: “They still have the same manager in Allan McGonigal so I don’t expect them to be too dissimilar and I’m willing to bet our players will know they’ve been in a game come the final whistle.
“It’s a massive Cup tie for both clubs and we want to do our large travelling support proud.”
The former Celtic, Morton and Dundee signing was in the Pollok side that lost to Beith in the Cup Final of the season before last but prefers to hedge his bets on whether he and his Kilwinning team-mates can go all the way.
He said: “I look around our Abbey Park dressing room and see a strikeforce combining the blinding pace of Bryan Boylan, the finishing ability of Ryan Nisbet and the intelligence of David Winters.”
There are no shortage of intriguing head to heads taking place elsewhere with Blair Park hosting the clash of 2014 Cup winners Hurlford United against Musselburgh Athletic whom Auchinleck fans will recall as beaten finalists in 2011 and again in 2015.
The Mussy are no longer a top-tier outfit through East and may find themselves bested by Darren Henderson’s men while a deeper and arguably more testing trek into Ayrshire awaits 2008 winners Bathgate Thistle whose meeting with Cumnock will evoke fond memories of their 2-1 Cup Final triumph when the late Paul McGrillen netted the winning goal .
Thought to be up against it are Vale of Leven in hosting the visit of last season’s beaten semi-finalists Bonnyrigg Rose while one cannot help but think a tough 90 minutes is in store for Cumbernauld United through at Newtongrange Star.