Gartcairn boss Mick Dunlop reckons a change of tactics resulted in a 3-2 win over St Roch’s in the West of Scotland League First Division.
Dunlop says it was the proverbial game of two halves as ’Cairn raced into a 2-0 lead through a Reegan Aitken double, only for Rab Maguire and Anthony Dempsey to level for the Candy.
By that point, Dunlop had moved from a 4-4-2 to a 4-1-4-1 formation, but reverted and threw on Dan Kindlan, who bagged a winner for the Airdrie side to keep them in second place in the table.
And the delighted boss said: “That was a really good three points at a difficult place to go.
“I don’t think they had lost there in the league this season.
“It was a game of two halves. We did well in the first half, were 2-0 up, hit the inside of the post and had another one or two opportunities.
“We could conceivably have been 3-0 up at half-time, and it would have been very difficult for them to come back, but fair play to them in the second half.
“They really upped their levels, pushed us back, and had us under the cosh.
“They created quite a few chances, our goalie has had three or four really good saves, but they got the goals to bring it back to 2-2.
“When they got it back to 2-1 I moved to a 4-1-4-1, but when it went to 2-2 I went back to 4-4-2, thinking ‘I’m going for it’, rather than trying to sit in for a draw.
“We managed to get a really good goal through Dan Kindlan, who came on as a sub for us.”
Recent results leave Cairn just one point off of Second Division leaders Kilbirnie Ladeside with two games in hand.
Dunlop added: “That was a great result and keeps the momentum going.
“Since we’ve come back from the break I think that’s five wins in a row. The players have been excellent.
“In total that’s 11 competitive games and we’ve had nine wins, one draw and a defeat, so the confidence within the group is definitely high.”
Dunlop hopes to take that into Saturday’s Scottish Junior Cup third round clash at home to Livingston United.
He said: “When it comes to cup competitions all you’re looking for is a home draw, which we’ve managed to get. But we’re under no illusions that it will be a difficult game.
“But it’s one we’re looking forward to and the confidence is high, so let’s see if we can continue that, get a positive result and get us into the next round.”
Kick-off at MTC Park on Saturday is scheduled for 2.30pm.
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.
