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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Paul Thomson

East Kilbride v Gretna OFF as Kilby gaffer now looks to Cumbernauld Colts battle

East Kilbride boss Kevin Rutkiewicz has warned his side not to get caught cold when they face Cumbernauld on Friday night after their Boxing Day clash with Gretna was postponed due to snow.

Kilby were set to host The Anvils but a flurry of snow in the town this morning left K-Park covered and the decision was made to call the game off just after noon.

It means their focus quickly shifts to Friday's trip to Broadwood and a meeting with Colts boss and former Kilby defender David Proctor.

EK saw last week's trip to Edinburgh University postponed as well and it means they haven't played since December 10, so Rutkiewicz says his side need to make sure they are on it.

He said: "It's disappointing the Gretna game is off. The park is covered and the forecast isn't great either. I think with it being Gretna and the distance they are travelling as well is a factor as well.

"If we'd been playing a Caley Braves or something we might have been able to hold off a bit longer.

"But we are mindful of Gretna wasting money to travel up here.

East Kilbride boss Kevin Rutkiewicz (EAST KILBRIDE NEWS)

"It is disappointing but just something we have to deal with.

"We were in training on Christmas Eve morning preparing for the game with a day off yesterday, but that's been to no avail.

"It's Cumbernauld on Friday and we'll just have our normal week to prepare, in training Tuesday and Thursday.

"We've not go far to travel so that is a good thing at this time of year.

"We need to make sure this time off doesn't manifest itself into an off beat performance, make sure our concentration is good and the focus is there to make sure there's no lag from not having any games for a couple of weeks."

Last time out, EK were made to sweat for the points as they managed to fend off some intense late pressure from Colts to hold out for a 1-0 win.

East Kilbride bagged a crucial 1-0 win over Cumbernauld Colts at K-Park on Saturday (EAST KILBRIDE NEWS)

And Rutkiewicz knows his third-place side will have to work hard again to sink 14th place Colts.

He added: "It will be a tough test. The last game was very tight in terms of the scoreline and we had a couple of tetchy moments, but I think we were comfortable on the day.

"At 1-0 we could have and should have put the game to bed.

"I keep getting warned in this league. I keep seeing results - not just for my team but across the league - that do how you imagine.

"The league has got a habit of throwing up the unexpected.

"If you look at the last five games both clubs have played, people will make us strong favourites for Friday night.

"But you just can't take anything for granted.

"So I'm very wary and there will be a bit of needle there with Procs facing his old club again.

"He will definitely want to get one over us - as we will him.

"We need to leave nothing to chance and we've got to be 100mph and find our feet very quickly."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

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