Glens run leaders Talbot all the way
Willie Harvey was left to rue Rutherglen Glencairns’s naivety despite an excellent performance in defeat to Auchinleck Talbot.
Glens produced a spirited performance against the unbeaten league leaders but Jack McDowall scored an 83rd minute winner for the Bot.
Auchinleck sit four points clear at the top of the West of Scotland Premier Division and Harvey was delighted with his young side’s’ application - despite switching off late on.
“We were really, really unlucky,” Harvey said. “We played really well and defended when we had to defend.
“We actually thought we’d scored just before the winner. Young Jack McIlveen had a brilliant effort on the turn and everybody was waiting for the net to erupt.
“But it went past the post and then they raced up the park to score and our naivety cost us.
“One or two of our players switched off and we could have committed a foul to stop the play.
“I don’t advocate kicking people but sometimes you have to take one for the team when you’re under pressure.
“We got punished by the only good bit of football that Auchinleck played all day. It’s a goal that we could have stopped if we weren’t so naive, which we tend to be at times because we are a young team.
“But I’ve nothing but praise because we held the best team in our league for 85 minutes.”
Rutherglen have faced a nightmare run of fixtures to kick-start the season.
They’ve faced seven of the top eight sides in the table in their opening eight games and Harvey knows it’s time to turn good performances into points as they prepare to face Kirkintilloch Rob Roy.
He said: “We’ve told the players that they need to continue their level of performance because we’ve played all the best teams now.
“We’ve played everybody at the top and we’ve not been dominated. We had a poor half against Kilwinning but that’s the only time that we’ve been dominated.
“The players can’t switch off when we play teams near the bottom, they have to maintain those standards.
“Everybody in this division is capable of beating each other. It’s a massive game for us against Kirkintilloch now.
“Their good run ended on Saturday so they’ll be looking to bounce back. They are just ahead of us but we’ve got
to stay on their tails.
“We can get out the relegation zone and pick up more points.
“Other teams in the league will now face the difficult run that we’ve just had so the opportunity is there for us.
“Other teams could start struggling and that will drag other teams back
into it.
“There is a lot to play for in the next few weeks.”
On Saturday, Rutherglen’s attentions turn away from league business. They host Finnart in round one of the Strathclyde Demolition Cup, kick-of 2pm.