Rob Roy looking for slice of luck in front of goal
BREAD-and-butter league action dominates today’s fixture card with all five basement clubs in the Premiership facing crunch contests and desperate for points.
Bottom-markers Rob Roy have reached the halfway stage in their league campaign with a mere six points and a further worrying statistic is they have only scored eight league goals despite the best efforts of boss Stewart Maxwell to boost his side’s firepower.
“Defensively we are reasonably solid and only Benburb among the teams in the bottom half of the table have conceded fewer goals,” he said. “However we are undoubtedly bringing pressure to bear on ourselves by not scoring enough goals.
“Both Alex Cassells and Sam McKenzie played well against the Bens last weekend in terms of effort and putting themselves about but I cannot think of a single instance where they looked like putting the ball in the net.
“Their confidence has been shot to pieces and what both of them are crying out for right now is a lucky break or deflection to go their way in front of goal.
“We’ve long since recognised our strikers need help but there’s a lot of competition for the few quality players available on the market and I’ve lost count of the doors that have slammed shut on my attempts to bring in new faces.”
Maxwell’s striking headache worsened last weekend when summer signing Jay McInally turned up at New Tinto Park on crutches after an ankle ligaments injury picked up in a midweek friendly.
“Jay was just coming back from a spell on the sidelines and it’s looking like he will be out of action for the next four to six weeks so reinforcements are a must,” Maxwell said.
Today, Rob Roy face a mighty challenge as they head down to Ayrshire to face front-runners Kilwinning Rangers. The Buffs’ lead in the standings has been cut by a run of three defeats in their last four matches but Chris Strain moved this week to arrest “the stumble” by signing seasoned striker
Calvin Kemp who was a Junior Cup and Premiership title winner with Auchinleck Talbot last season.
“This is Calvin’s second spell with us and bringing him on board again was a nobrainer because he’s a proven goalscorer who will take the weight off Carlo Monti and Ben Lewis,” Strain said. “It also helps that he’s a local lad who is desperate to play for the Buffs.”
Second-bottom Rutherglen Glencairn’s determination to clamber clear of the basement could see two new midfield signings unveiled in today’s clash against Clydebank.
Willie Harvey has snapped up former Rangers Youth signing Lee Cochrane who has impressed as a trialist in recent outings and Drew Wingate from Kilsyth Rangers in a surprise player/swap deal that sees Gavin Mackie move to the Championship outfit.
The Bankies may be experiencing a sticky spell of their own – one win in their last six outings – but striker Nikky Little is finding the net regularly and they will be fancied to take the spoils even though Glens followers are convinced Tony Fraser and co have turned the corner after eking out a 0-0 draw in their last outing against Largs Thistle.
Seven points ahead of the Glens albeit from having played five more games are a Troon side who host Glenafton while still coming to terms with the shock New Year departure of ex-Hearts and Partick Thistle front man Ryan Stevenson to Stranraer.
Accumulating 22 points may have fans of fifth-from-bottom Cumnock thinking there is no danger of relegation but all their basement rivals have games in hand over them and manager Tony McInally has urged caution ahead of the visit of Irvine Meadow.
“Our aim at this club is to keep trying to pick up points in every game regardless of whether we are mathematically safe or not. People keep saying 30 points will do it but the target for my players is to show by their commitment and performances that they want to be part of what we are building here.”