Johnstone Burgh edged past Glasgow University to break into the promotion places for the first time this season.
After a disappointing start to their Conference A campaign, the Keanie Park club have steadily marched up the table after an impressive run of victories.
And their latest, a narrow 1-0 victory at Airdrie’s Excelsior Stadium against Glasgow University, was sealed when Brian Connor clinically swept home after an excellent move involving Jojo Gillespie and Sam Esplin.
The three points helped push the Renfrewshire club into the top four, with fourth spot set to seal a place in the Championship next season.
Manager Jamie McKim was delighted to see his side come through the tricky challenge unscathed, with the club now crucially enjoying a run of five home fixtures in the countdown to the end of the season.
McKim told Express Sport: “It was a great result to pick up against a very good footballing side.
“It’s a huge pitch at that stadium and they move the ball very well. You have to be very good on the ball and hold on to possession or you could end up gubbed after half an hour.
“Our preparation was spot on and it was a lovely goal to win it, with Esplin and Gillespie linking up well before Connor stuck it away.
“We’re up to fourth now and we’ve got five home games left, which is massive.
“It’s over to us now to make the most of that opportunity.
“We had a poor start to the season and to be in the mix for promotion now is a good achievement in itself.
“We’re determined to go one step further though having home comforts has got to be an advantage for us.”
Burgh’s promotion push was given a helping hand before a ball was kicked on Saturday after they were handed three points for their postponed clash with Maryhill.
McKim believes the response to the decision has been “embarrassing” from their promotion spot rivals, insisting that the right decision was made in the end.
McKim said: “Some of the reaction from Maryhill has been absolute nonsense.
“I’ve seen comments from them saying that we didn’t want to play the game. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“That’s absolutely embarrassing.
“They were the ones that had two games on their grass park, in November, on the morning of our game.
“It was absolutely the right decision and a really important one in terms of the integrity of the league.
“If we went down the road that clubs could get games postponed whenever they wanted or needed it could have been seriously damaging for the league as a whole. At the end of the day, the right decision was made and we move on.”
