Glencairn's friendly wins please co-manager Scott Smith

Jan 27 2010 by Will Henshaw, Rutherglen Reformer

GLENS co-manager Scott Smith expressed his delight as his side secured two friendly wins over Shettleston and Irvine Meadow.

The Rutherglen men hastily arranged a fixture after their scheduled league match against Ashfield was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

And despite the match being a friendly, the Glens were ruthless as they routed Shettleston 8 - 1.

Despite the heavy win Scott insists the match was a lot closer than the scoreline would have people believe.

He said: “It was a good work out for us. We felt the squad had a bit of rustiness and that will help us get back to match fitness.

“It was a great performance, you can’t argue with eight goals.

“It was a good game. Although the score was 8-1 I thought Shettleston played really well and they played some good football but just ran out of steam as the game went on and we looked the fitter of the two teams.

“A lot of them were decent goals and there was some good performances from guys like Ryan McArdle and Stephen O'Keane.

“There were a lot of plus points to take from the game”

As the Glens aimed to recuperate some of the match sharpness lost due to games being cancelled as a result of the weather, they arranged another friendly against Irvine Meadow on Monday night.

This proved a much closer fixture, as the thrilling encounter ended 3-2.

Speaking of the friendly Scott said: “That’s as good a friendly as I’ve been involved in. It was a cracking game, end to end and wide open. The people that turned out must have been entertained. There was a lot of good football played, some nice passing and good movement, both teams had a hunger about them as well.

“There was good edge to it, it wasn’t like a normal friendly. Everybody was desperate to win the game and I’m delighted with the result and the performance.”

Next up the Glens face Johnstone Burgh in the Emirates Scottish Junior Cup third Round.

The home tie will be a tricky one and although his side will be favourites, Scott is taking nothing for granted:“I saw they were down at the game last (Monday) night watching us. We went up to watch their game last week so we known what to expect. I don’t expect it to be that open. They’ve been on our park before and we’ve beaten them quite handsomely although they did beat us towards the end of last season 1-0 at their own park.

“At the end of the day we’ll go in as favourites, and rightly so, but we need to preform how we did against Irvine Meadow. Scottish Cup ties are notoriously full of upsets and we need to make sure we’re not on the end of one. We want to make sure we’re in the next round and going to Cambuslang the following week.”

The co-manager went on to reveal that Glen’s less than flattering record in cup competitions was one of the only things that disappointed him during his tenure: “As I’ve said before, that’s maybe the only thing I’ve been disappointed in since we took over at Glencairn, especially in the West and the Scottish. Our main aim is promotion but I wouldn’t mind a wee run in the Scottish this year.

“I think everybody would be looking forward to that, so we need to make sure we don’t let people down.”

Although the prospect of facing their biggest rivals in the cup is a tantalising prospect Scott would rather the Lang were in the same league as his boys: “I would rather Cambuslang were in our league as at the end of the day everybody looks forward to derby matches. The fact we’ve not played them at the start of the season gives it a wee bit more spice but the fact it’s the Scottish Cup gives it an added edge.

“If we manage to get through and face Cambuslang then everybody will know who we’re playing in the following round as well, it could be someone like Auchinleck or Irvine Meadow.

“It’s a mouth watering prospect, and it’ll be a full house, that’s for sure.”

Scott was also pleased to announce that the Glens will be adding a new face to their squad.

The deal is not yet done, and thus Scott could not give the player’s name.

However he is confident that the new addition will provide more experience to the side.

“There will be a new face in before the end of the week. it’s about 70-30 per cent done.

“It’s somebody else with a bit of experience. We weren’t out and out looking for it but it presented itself to us and we don’t want to miss the opportunity.”

The Glens will take on Ayr United in a friendly at the Clyde Gateway Stadium with a 7.30pm kick off on Monday February 1.