DOWNTO THE WIRE
Waiting game for G lens after final match
Rutherglen Glencairn No.2 Joe Pryce is confident his side will bounce straight back to the West of Scotland Premier League, should they end up relegated from this season’s top flight.
Glens are 14th in the league table, but face a sweat over rivals Glenafton Athletic’s results.
The New Cumnock side are just a point behind Glencairn, but with two games still to play, in the battle for 14th spot, which would see whoever lands in it survive – as long as Darvel win their Lowland League play-off against St Cuthbert’s Wanderers on May 25.
Glenafton beat Irvine Meadow 2-1 on Monday, host Blantyre Vics tonight (Wednesday) and finish their season at Cumbernauld United on May 28, needing a win or two draws.
Pryce says they’re not relegated yet, and if they are, Glencairn will just keep going.
He said: “The boys have shown that they’re able to compete in the top division, they’ve not looked out of place, and that’s all we can ask of them.
“It is what it is, and we’ll just keep pushing forward.
“Whatever league we’re in, we just get ready for it and go again.
“Whatever league we’re in, it will be a tough division next year, but we put everything into trying to stay in the top league, and at the moment we’re still in it.”
Pryce reckons Glencairn have had a good season, landing on 50 points from 38 games, but says late goals could cost them dearly in the long run.
“We’ve had wee runs where we did quite well and picked up a few results on the bounce,” said Pryce, “and then some of the late equalisers have absolutely killed us.
“It has been 97th minute against Clydebank, 91st minute against Rossvale, and that’s the difference.”
Glencairn ended their season with a 1-1 draw against highflying Pollok at Newlandsfield Park on Saturday, as Fraser Malcolm’s strike cancelled out an early Dylan Dykes penalty.
Pryce said: “Pollok are one of the top three or four teams in our division, but I thought the boys competed well with everything they had, and we couldn’t ask any more of them.
“We’ve taken it right until the last kick of the ball.”