EK pay penalty in Stirling draw
EAST KILBRIDE ...................................... 2 UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING .................. 2 Neil McLaughlin missed a late penalty as East Kilbride dropped points to Stirling University for the second time this season.
But Kilby boss Kevin Rutkiewicz insisted he was delighted with his side’s display against the high-flying students.
McLaughlin – who had given EK a 38th minute lead in the clash from the spot – was denied from 12 yards in the 88th minute and the hosts ended up having to settle for a 2-2 draw, in a game where Reece McGuire had fired them into a 2-1 lead before they were pegged back.
Rutkiewicz felt their overall display was impressive as they atoned somewhat for a 2-0 defeat at Forthbank earlier in the season.
He said: “We should have won the game. We played really well and we are disappointed to concede the goals we did.
“Performance wise, it was night and day from the game at Forthbank.
“Stirling Uni have been a thorn in a lot of sides this season. They are a very good team and at the top end of the table for a reason.
“It looked like a top-of-the-table clash as well and it was a good game.
“They had a few chances but we definitely had the better chances and a big chance right at the end to win [the penalty].
“We are disappointed with the result but I was delighted with our performance.”
The result kept EK in sixth spot in the table, 10 points behind fourth-place Uni, and 14 points adrift of league leaders Spartans.
Their eighth draw of the campaign means they now have Berwick Rangers and Civil Service Strollers breathing down they necks, as they aim to hold on to their position in the table.
Fifth place Tranent are nine points ahead of Rutkiewicz’s men but he says he isn’t focusing on the teams behind them.
He added: “I don’t want to be looking over our shoulder. We want to be looking above us and trying to catch those teams.
“We know we have got people charging behind us as well now so we want to make sure we finish as high as we possibly can.
“We’ve got 21 points still to play for and our aim is to get as close to 21 points as we can, to finish the season with momentum and, hopefully, carry it on when the majority of the group is still here going into next season.
“We’ve still to play Civil, Berwick, Tranent, Hearts, Cowdenbeath, Gretna,
Edinburgh, all these teams.
“These are games we can affect but we can’t affect what else is happening above and below us at the minute.
“I just want us to totally concentrate on winning every game and then we can review things.
“We’ll look at where we’ve fallen short but also look at the positives - and there are positives.
“There is an ambition within the club and we have fallen short of that because a few results have come back to bite us.
“But we don’t want the season to peter out.”