Neilston co-boss Chris Cameron revealed he was unhappy with the conduct of rivals Johnstone Burgh after their heated derby clash at the Brig O’Lea Stadium.
The Farmer’s Boys suffered their second defeat of the season at the hands of the Keanie Park club, with the hosts battling to the bitter end but unable to level with the match ending 2-1 to the visitors.
While stating he was “disappointed” with the way some of Burgh’s committee members acted after the full-time whistle, Cameron was full of praise for his own side’s behaviour on what was a tough afternoon for his club.
Cameron said: “I was honestly very pleased with the overall performance from us.
“We were without seven starters and I think they were missing about five too, so neither of us was at full strength.
“We hit the woodwork three or four times, their keeper made a couple of great saves as well and it was just one of those days when things weren’t dropping for us.
“Both of their goals were avoidable from our point of view. The first was a miskick for a corner which was avoidable, and the second also came from a backpass to our keeper which wasn’t cleared properly.
“I felt we should have won the game quite comfortably. It was played almost entirely in Burgh’s half.
“We had a couple of great opportunities after getting one back but we put them wide. That’s my only gripe with our boys is that we created seven or eight great chances and we only took one of them. That’s not good enough for us.
“There seems to be a bit of bad blood between the clubs now and I’m not sure where it’s come from.
“They were kicking balls away to waste time, kicking balls onto the park to break up the play. It was proper dark arts stuff.
“I was disappointed with the conduct of Burgh after the game. Celebrating is one thing but some of their committee boys were slaughtering our players walking off, saying it had been an easy six points and obviously looking for a reaction.
“You see that from fans, but I was surprised to see it from the club themselves. That’s not the Burgh I’ve grown up knowing.
“My boys did us proud by not reacting at all when it would have been easy to.”
One clinical striker Cameron can’t wait to see pull on a Neilston shirt again is new signing Tam McGaughey.
The former Arthurlie hitman was unavailable for Saturday’s derby, with Cameron confident he’ll make a big difference in the final third when he’s finally ready to make his debut in his second spell at the Brig O’Lea.
Cameron said: “Unfortunately Tam is cup-tied for this weekend’s game against Auchinleck as well, which is a real shame.
“He’s a smashing player who is so tricky up front. He can go past people for fun and his record in front of goal speaks for itself.
“He absolutely could have made a real difference against Burgh in the final third.
“He’s got that bit of magic and going forward I’m confident he’ll be a great signing for us.”
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