Thorn Athletic boss Barry McLaughlin believes going up against a Scottish Cup winner can help his young guns develop their own winning mentality.
The Fourth Division Johnstone side knew they were up against it when they travelled to Buffs Park to take on Premier Division opposition in the second round of the WoSFL Cup.
The game got off to a disastrous start for the visitors, with Jack McMahon netting the opener after just 60 seconds – his first of an eventual hat-trick.
Thorn recovered well to hold the favourites to just 1-0 at half-time, before the hosts raced out of the traps to run into a 5-0 lead.
As well as the bright spark of Ryan Crawford’s sensational late long range consolation strike, manager McLaughlin feels his players taking on much more experienced opponents – including former St Johnstone midfielder Chris Millar – will only benefit them in the long run.
McLaughlin said: “Despite the scoreline and result it was still a very good experience for our squad.
“We lost a goal after the first minute, but we recovered very well and were still competitive and in the game at half-time.
“They took it away from us at the start of the second half, but I know our players will learn a lot from that type of game.
“It’s great to be up close and personal with a top flight team so soon. They were up against guys like Chris Millar, who won the Scottish Cup with St Johnstone.
“You can only learn from that kind of challenge so, result aside, I was still pleased with the overall performance in what was always going to be a tough game for us.”
Thorn are back in league action this weekend, facing a mammoth trip to Kintyre Park to take on Campbeltown Pupils.
Sitting fifth in the table at the moment, McLaughlin insists his side haven’t given up hope of breaking into one of the top three promotion spots.
And he hopes the long team-bonding trip to Argyll and Bute can help foster even better relationships within the Johnstone camp.
McLaughlin said: “It’s a hell of a long way there and back again, but we’re trying to look at the positives of the trip.
“We won there last time out and on the way back we had quite a few new guys who had to sing
their initiation songs.
“It’s great to get them away from the rap stuff and singing something like ‘Islands in the Stream’. It’s definitely an interesting listen!
“It’s a great laugh and a good opportunity to have the team altogether and keep building those relationships. It’s easy to forget we only started out this season.
“We have played the least amount of games in the league so far because we’ve been so successful in the cups.
“The focus is now fully on the league and the big challenge for us is to get into the top three. It’s a strong league and the teams at the top don’t lose many, so we know it’s going to be tough.
“But it’s a great challenge for us and we’ll certainly give it our best shot.”
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