St Cuthbert Wanderers chief Jordan Williamson believes his squad rotation is paying off.
Saints had a comfortable 4-1 win over Stranraer on Saturday to put them joint top of their South of Scotland League Cup group.
Mark O’Rourke opened the scoring and Scott Ballantyne hit a double with the returning Jack McMurdo also on the scoresheet.
Williamson said: “We have been resting players and giving players time and I think there was rustiness.
“Now that they’ve had the minutes in their legs they’re up to speed.
“On Saturday we were resting players again but we’ve got a resounding win against a well organised and well drilled Stranraer outfit.
“They’re the only team to have taken maximum points off us in the league but the boys made sure that didn’t happen again.”
McMurdo was the last Saints skipper to lift the South of Scotland League title in 2016 and has returned to his old club
for the final few weeks
of the season. And he’s been joined by Brandon McEvoy who has temporarily joined the club from Saltcoats Victoria.
Williamson said: “Their season is finished so their manager is sending us a couple of players over.
“He came in on the left hand side and did really well.
“It shows the quality of the player in the West of Scotland League.
“Saltcoats have been struggling and he came in and didn’t look out of place.
“Jack has been in for a couple of weeks working on his fitness as he’s been out for a few months with back problems.
“I’m delighted he saw out the 90 minutes with no problems. He’s a great addition for the rest of
the season.
“He’s not just a quality player, he led the club as captain to silverware and that’s a massive factor of why we’ve brought him back in.”
Saints beat Newton Stewart in the League Cup on Wednesday night but have a blank weekend.
Then they face Creetown in the Tweedie Cup on Wednesday before a league game a few days later – a match which could see them clinch the South of Scotland League title.
The gaffer said: “You can only judge their biggest games of the season when they come round, you can’t hand pick them, but it’s the biggest week of the season in terms of our first three points and looking to potentially tie up the league.
“The fact we played Creetown last Wednesday will help.
“It’s not as if we’re going into the game blind.
“We know what they’re like, we’ve seen their players and know the way the play.”
