Paul calls on his Bens troops to rally after Glens loss
BENBURB manager Paul Lovering has demanded a reaction from his players after their heaviest defeat of the season in last weekend’s 6-0 thumping at home to title rivals Rutherglen Glencairn.
Speaking ahead of today’s clash with Arthurlie, the former Airdrie and Ayr United defender is adamant his side will head to Dunterlie with genuine optimism.
He said: “Taking such a battering has everyone thinking our bubble has burst but the guys showed their character earlier this season by going on an eight game winning run after losing our league opener. And they responded again with five straight wins following our 4-0 Macron Scottish Junior Cup defeat at home to Broughty Athletic. So I’ve every reason to think they will be fired up to make amends.
“Football is not always plain sailing as the players found out the hard way last week but they have to accept responsibility and play as they can, starting tomorrow.
“I will always defend them but there’s no denying last Saturday’s performance wasn’t at the level we have been producing for the majority of this season and in truth we got exactly what we deserved to take out of the game – absolutely nothing.
“As a player myself I knew what it was like to be on the wrong end of a hammering or two but in those instances the next game couldn’t come soon enough and looking at our team’s body language this week, I can sense that very same appetite.”
By a quirk of coincidence, Benburb also faced Arthurlie in the immediate wake of the early August defeat by Glencairn and ran out 2-0 winners however Dunky Sinclair’s men appear to be a tougher nut to crack nowadays and are on a run that has yielded up 18 points from a possible 21.
Lovers said: “Arthurlie are a massive football club with a great Juniors pedigree and were quite rightly thought to be one of the title favourites even before a ball was kicked this season.
“They had a difficult start but appear to have got their act together and I’m expecting a much closer contest than our last meeting but hopefully we can get over the line and put ourselves on track to finish 2018 on a high.”
Second in the table Glencairn will look to keep up the chase by taking the spoils when Craigmark visit the Celsius Stadium and one cannot envisage Willie Harvey’s men slipping up given that Del Esplin & Co are playing at the very top of their game.
In other encounters, Duncansfield provides the backdrop for the clash of ambitious pair Kilsyth Rangers and Rossvale which has the makings of a pre-Xmas cracker while St Rochs must win away to Darvel to maintain their promotion challenge.
And if third placed Cumbernauld United are to keep alive hopes of a New Year overhauling of Benburb and Glencairn in the title stakes then nothing less than a a Guys Meadow victory over one point worse off Whitletts Vics will suffice.
‘‘ Taking such a battering has everyone thinking our bubble has burst