Hughes: Hill were bloomin’ marvels despite Rose sting
JOHN HUGHES says his players have put Maryhill back on the Junior football map with their impressive run in the Scottish Junior Cup.
The Hill were knocked out of the tournament at the weekend after losing 4-2 to East Superleague outfit Linlithgow Rose at McKenna Park.
However, the Maryhill boss insists his team have re-established themselves as a top side by reaching the last 16 of the junior football’s number one cup competition.
Hughes, right, said: “Of course I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get through to the quarterfinals but I can’t fault my players. “What they have achieved this season in the Junior Cup has been incredible, giving how many teams compete in the tournament it’s a massive achievement for any side to reach the last 16. “I’m very proud of them for getting as far as they did because it shows they have the quality to mix it up with some of the Junior football’s best teams. “Everyone in- volved with this club wants to put Maryhill’s name back on the Junior football map and I think we’ve done just that with this cup run.”
MARYHILL will return to league action for the first time in six weeks when they welcome Clydebank to Lochburn Park on Saturday.
The Hill currently sit second bottom of McBookie.com Super First Division having only picked up eight points from 12 games so far this season.
Hughes says his side can’t wait to get back to league duty as they look to move out of the relegation zone, but the Hill boss admits beating Clydebank won’t be an easy task.
He said: “It’s been six weeks since we last played a league match and I know the boys are very eager to get back to play- ing league football. We are in the relegation mix, but we haven’t been able to change that as we haven’t played in the league since early February.
“We have watched the teams around us drop points, but we haven’t been able to take advantage of that, but now we are back to playing in the league we will be able to.”
Hughes added: “Having said that, this weekend’s game against Clydebank is going to be very tough, we’re aware of how good they are.
“However, that doesn’t mean we will be in awe of them come Saturday. We will show them the respect they deserve but we will also know we can beat them.
“They suffered a defeat against Irvine Meadow at the weekend so they will want to bounce back by beating us.
“We will need to be at our best to get a result, but if we can replicate the form we have shown recently then we will have a very good chance of picking up all three points.”
While everyone involved with Linlithgow Rose will be celebrating their Junior Cup triumph over Maryhill, one man who will be enjoying it that little bit more is frontman Tommy Coyne.
He didn’t just bag himself a hat-trick that helped seal his side’s place in the quarterfinals, he also broke the 250goal mark for his beloved Rose.
Coyne said: “My second goal today was my 250th so that’s me on 251 now, which is great, it’s something for me to look back on and enjoy.
“This club’s been brilliant for me and I think I’ve been okay for the club so hopefully I can stay and get 300 goals for them.”