Glenafton ease relegation fears with victory over Rob Roy

Caddis and his players held a frank clear-the-air discussion in the dressing room after their humiliating 9-0 trouncing by Beith Juniors at Bellsdale Park on April 27.

And the tactic proved crucial in scrubbing the memory of the game from their minds as Caddis's men bounced back to secure a vital 2-1 win at home to relegation rivals Rob Roy on Saturday.

Goals from Liam Caddis and Hugh Kerr earned the New Cumnock side a crucial three points at Loch Park, with the home side digging deep for the final 15 minutes after Rob Roy pulled a goal back.

Caddis commented:  “After the [Beith] game we had a wee lock-in in the changing room. We aired a few opinions and put that game to bed as quickly as possible.

“I think it was important that we when we went into the Tuesday and Thursday training sessions that our minds were completely on Rob Roy.

“We had a game plan for Saturday, and we set up a certain way, though it wasn’t pretty at times.

"I felt we were comfortable at 2-0 but they scored and you saw the nerves setting in.

“I thought we deserved out victory overall. It was a massive three points but since Arthurlie beat Hurlford we need to go try and get another one.”

The result has gone a long way towards ensuring Glenafton's Premier Division survival with only three matches left.

Glens, who sit one place outside the relegation zone, are four points clear of Arthurlie and six clear of Rob Roy, both of whom have two matches left to play.

It means a win in any of the New Cumnock side's remaining three matches will secure a spot in the top division next season.

Caddis commented: “When I took on the job the main objective was to stay in the league. That was it, and that’s still the objective.

“It’s still in our hands. It always has been since we came in. If we win one game, we’re safe – we can’t ask for much more.

“If we don’t win any of our three games, then we probably don’t deserve to be in the league.”

Being in this position is testament to the Glens' turnaround in fortunes since Caddis came in.

When the former Whitletts boss took on the role in December, Glanafton had just nine points and were firmly in the relegation positions.

But since then they've picked up 21 points, with some impressive results on the way against Pollok, Auchinleck Talbot, Beith and others.

Caddis is hoping this continues into their final three matches this season before he can begin building for the next.

He continued: “We went to Pollok and won, went to Hurlford and won, went to Cumnock and won. We beat Talbot at home, got a point against Beith, and beat Rob Roy at home.

“We had nine points when I came in, we’ve now got 30. I thought 31 would be enough to stay up, but Arthurlie are going well – fair play to them, those boys have got the Scottish Junior Cup final and they will be riding that wave.

“It’s all to play for, but it’s in our hands, It doesn’t matter what the other two teams do.

“At the end of the day the league doesn’t lie, the poorest teams go down and the best wins it.

“I just hope we manage to stay in that fourth bottom spot, and then it’s a rebuild in the summer and kick on next season.”

Glenafton's first chance to secure safety comes on Tuesday, May 7, when they host St Cadoc's at 7.30pm.

After that it's home matches against Cumnock on Friday, May 10 (KO 7.45pm) and against Darvel on Wednesday, May 15 (KO 7.30pm) to round off their campaign.