We’re ready to do battle
Renfrew set for league cup clash
Renfrew manager Colin Clark hopes the lights won’t go out on his club’s quest for silverware as they prepare for a Sectional League Cup spectacle this evening.
The high-flying ‘Frew will welcome top flight opposition in the shape of Pollok to New Western Park as the two teams battle it out for a spot in the tournament’s finale, where the victors will face Clydebank.
It has been four long years since the side last reached the competition’s final.
And as fate would have it, it was Pollok they faced in the final of the same competition back in 2013. Matt McLean fired Renfrew into the lead that night, before strikes from Calum Hardie and Roddy Hunter ensured the trophy went to the southside.
Looking back on that night, it is more the poor conditions that Clark remembers than anything else as he looks to gee up his side ahead of the big clash.
Clark told Express Sport: “My abiding memory of that night was it was almost pitch black. We played the final at Maryhill but I think it was darker in the ground with the floodlights on than it was out on the street — the lighting was terrible.
“It was a fantastic achievement though, to get through to the final that time, and we played quite well that night.
“But it would be great to get the opportunity to lead the club into a final again. We haven’t had much luck in them in the past. “It is exciting for the players as well. “They are playing in a semi-final, against a big team, in front of their own crowd and have every chance of making it through to face Clydebank.
“But we will have to be at our very best. Pollok are a strong side and we know what to expect but it is an opportunity to see how we measure up against a team that is in the league above us.”
Clark insists his side have nothing to fear when they welcome Tony McNally’s team — despite ‘Lok being laden with talent from the junior and senior ranks.
The likes of Bryan Young, Mark Sideserf and Derek Hepburn are all well known to followers of the junior game, while their squad is also supplemented by the likes of former Morton striker Stefan McCluskey and ex-Queen’s Park captain Paul Gallacher.
But ‘Frew co-boss Clark reckons his team will still provide a stern test for the Newlandsfield outfit.
He added: “We are at home but we know we will need to up our levels for long spells of the game to stand a chance.
“No matter what happens it will be a good experience for all our boys, and it could go one of two ways.
“It has been a few years since we last played them but Pollok have always been a strong outfit. The likes of Stefan McCluskey played under Tony McNally at Shotts earlier in his career so we know all about him, while Nicky Little was at Clydebank last season.
“But it is a home tie and we need to make the most of any advantages we have got — at the end of the day a place in the final is at stake.”