‘A victory the squad thoroughly deserved’
ROVERS HIT FOUR ON THE ROAD TO LEAPFROG OPPONENTS IN TABLE
Kennoway Star Hearts .... 1 Peebles Rovers ................ 4
PEEBLES Rovers climbed above Kennoway Star Hearts in the league table with an emphatic victory on the road.
The Borderers were looking to bounce back after a 4-1 defeat at home in the East of Scotland Football League Second Division against Thornton Hibs last time out.
And they managed to flip the scoreline in their favour at Treaton Park on Saturday.
The ever-reliable Grant Wilson gave Rovers the lead with around five minutes left of the first half.
But the Borderers were pegged back before the break as Declan Nugent struck for the hosts.
In the second half Peebles pushed on and hit the back of the net three times without response.
Wilson grabbed his brace before the hour mark, his second double in recent weeks against Hearts, before Gregor Lamb got in on the act to settle any nerves on the visitors’ bench.
Michael Joyce made it four late on to seal a satisfying win.
Interim manager Paul Dickson said: “This was a victory the boys thoroughly deserved after all their hard work of late and it was very much a squad performance.
“I felt we controlled the game from start to finish apart from one crucial moment where we switched off and Kennoway took advantage and scored. However, over the piece, we weren’t really troubled in all honesty and merited the win.
“I thought the shape and our tempo and the way we played in the conditions was probably my most enjoyable performance as manager. But that’s not down to me, that’s down to the players and everything they’ve taken on board. We introduced a different system when I took over and naturally it’s taken time for everyone to adapt, but they’ve all bought into it and we really reaped the rewards yesterday.
“We’ve said it before though, you can put everything out there for the boys but if they really have the will to win they will be very competitive. If we just keep doing what we know we are good at and capable of then they’re more than good enough and we will just look to gather momentum and a run of results to push us up where we feel we should be.”
He added: “The starting 11 and all the subs came together yesterday and it was a sign of what this group is all about; togetherness and a close bond of mates.
“We’ve got eight matches left and hopefully now we get more results in the run and days like yesterday will come more often than not. That’s what we deserve but we know we need to apply ourselves correctly to ensure we reach our potential.”