A shout out for Smithy
Boss praises striker for netting derby hat-trick
Glencairn boss Willie Harvey hailed hat-trick hero Gary Smith for his derby day demolition job on Cambuslang Rangers.
The Glens spoiled their local rivals’ boss Paul McColl’s return to the dugout and handed Petershill the Super First Division trophy following a 3-1 victory on Monday night.
Smith, 26, netted two long-range free kicks in both halves, either side of his second just before the break, to keep Glen’s hopes of promotion alive.
Harvey insisted the ex-Motherwell striker was right to gain the plaudits but praised all his players for an all-round perfect performance.
He said: “Gary Smith’s free kicks were absolutely outstanding. They are like a penalty kick when you get it.
“What it means is teams will do their best not to give away free kicks to us. Every time he gets one you expect him to score, we’re praying for free kicks the way we are screaming for penalties.
“He’s got power, he’s got accuracy, everything about them is right.
“But he practices them all the time and he’s getting his rewards.”
Smith has reached 25 goals for the season in 17 starts as The Glens, who sit a point outside the play-off spots, boosted their hopes of a top six finish.
However, Harvey was quick to praise his defenders and stand-in trialist keeper Scott McLellen for limiting a strong Cambuslang attacking line to few opportunities in the second half.
He added: “I’m over the moon considering we are carrying a lot of injuries.
“We lost our first choice goalkeeper Jack Baker to injury, we couldn’t get our under-21s keeper because he’s got university exams.
“So we’ve brought a boy in and he’s done really well. But, in fairness, I think my defenders gave him a lot of cover. As I said in the dressing room after, I don’t know when I’ve last walked in and seen a team without a single failure in it.
“They worked really hard. After we took the lead and lost the goal after 90 seconds, I’ve seen us implode before but we didn’t this time.
“We thoroughly deserved the win and I thought we could have taken more off them.”
Their hunt for promotion will be put on hold for the time being as Glencairn host Ashfield in the Central League Cup.
And while Harvey insists there is more important matters to focus on, he is hoping to get one over on a side who caused a cup shock in November.
He said: “It’s a chance for a bit revenge. They put us out the West of Scotland Cup and, in fairness, it’s not as if we played that badly.
“We never took our chances and gave away a stupid goal with the last kick of the ball.”