GLENAFTON brought new signing Dean Hawkshaw, pictured, into the starting 11 on Saturday and he made an instant impact.

Manager Craig McEwan said: “Dean is a permanent signing on a one-year deal. He played for Kilmarnock in the Premiership last season.

“He was out on loan to Lvingston before moving on from Kilmarnock and then looking for a club.

“We are really glad he has come to ourselves. But he will go back up a level, you can see that.

“This was the first full game he’s played for around six months. I didn’t want to give him the 90 minutes today but I thought he was terrific and he stayed on.”

At the weekend, McEwan enjoyed a Saturday night for the first time in more than a month.

Following a 3-0 win at Kilbirnie Ladeside, he said: "I felt so comfortable after the first half, which is slightly worrying as all it takes is a mistake or a fantastic goal and you lose points.

"But, over the piece I think the scoreline reflected how the match went although we did show both sides of our game.

"Sometimes we need to play horrible, defend, throw ourselves in front of the ball and put our bodies on the line.

"This has been a good week. We played Kilmarnock Reserves on Tuesday night and had a good performance."

One thing that has been lacking is an extended cup run and McEwan hopes Saturday will provide the boost required as they travel to Cumbernauld United in the junior cup.

He said: "We need to kick on now. Next week is massive for the club. People will think it will be an easy win for us but we are under no illusions as Cumbernauld are a very good side.

"It has been hard to get out of the rut the past four or five weeks but we have managed to do it - I can finally enjoy a Saturday night again.

"While I am reluctant to praise individuals, we needed something fresh to gather some momentum with the new signings and it worked for us.

"It's three points and, while I would have taken a 1-0 last-minute own-goal, to a man the players were all great today."