Older heads let us down, says Rab
Assistant manager hits out
Glencairn assistant manager Rab Torrance pointed the finger squarely at the more experienced players in the team following Saturday’s shock cup exit to Culter.
Glens had been expected to see off the Aberdeenshire men in the replay, and looked on course to do just that when they led 2- 1 late on, as well as enjoying a man advantage.
But two goals in the last six minutes left the Rutherglen men shaking their heads in disbelief as they crashed out of the national competition.
Rab refused to put the loss down to complacency, but admitted naivety may have played a part.
And he reckons the older heads in the squad must shoulder their share of the blame for not keeping calm under pressure.
He said: “We should have won comfortably, especially being a man up and a goal up going into the last 10 minutes
“There’s maybe been naivety in terms of not being able to see the game out. For both goals, we’ve had the ball in their half and given it away. It was two sloppy freekicks.
“All goals come from mistakes, but you’d have thought we’d have held onto possession, and we told them this in no uncertain terms after the game that we were disappointed with what happened.
“We keep saying we’re a young team, but sometimes it’s the experienced players who are letting us down with their decision making.
“It’s basic errors that are costing us. We’re making sloppy decisions at times and it seems to be the same over and over again.
“It’s very disappointing to be out the cup, especially having had a good run in the past few years. Coming away from their park I thought we’d have more than enough and it was looking that way until the final 10 minutes, then all of a sudden we’ve made two mistakes.
“We can now concentrate on the league. Everyone wants to do well in the cup because of the romance. Realistically you are not going to win it, but to be out this early is very disappointing.”
There was some good news for Glens this week when Ross McNeil returned to the club. The talented striker scored an incredible 101 goals for the under-21s in their treble winning season of 2012/13 and joins from Albion Rovers, having also been on the books at Stenhousemuir.
Rab hopes Ross can rekindle his partnership with another graduate of the under-21 squad, Del Esplin, who has been one of the Glens’ best performers this season.
Rab said: “Ross gives us something different, he gives us pace and a willingness to get in behind the defence rather than wanting the ball at his feet. That’s how he scored all his goals.
“Del Esplin played with him and set up a large amount of his goals. He seemed to know where he was all the time and hopefully that will happen again. I’m delighted we’ve got Ross.”