Danny Smith eyes winning run after Dunipace deservedly down Mariners

The Westfield Park side notched up a 3-1 home win over local rivals Camelon Juniors on Saturday in the East of Scotland First Division, moving them to within four points of the promotion spots.

On the day, goals from David Morrison, Sam Colley and returning hitman David Grant sealed the three points before the break, with Euan Baird’s goal for the away side only a consolation.

Pace boss Smith said of the result: “I managed to catch most of the game back thanks to Camelon’s excellent highlights on YouTube, which were 20-odd minutes long, and it really showed how good we were on the day.

“Before the game I said to the players that despite our recent form the game would be well within our reach because the difference was that we had a 20-strong squad to select a team from.

“In recent weeks we’ve been missing key players and I have been filling the bench with younger players. I told the guys that we are a different team when we have everyone available and that was proved correct on Saturday.

"The first half showing was excellent and we started the game really well. We got our goals and we could have actually been three or four goals up. In the final third we were excellent and we competed all over the park, which is something we have been guilty of not doing recently.

“Getting the three points on Saturday was the most important thing and we did that. It felt like we maybe got the wee breaks we haven’t been getting and that is when you know it was a good day.”

The Pace face table-toppers Dunbar United this Saturday, but Smith is confident the team can keep on winning as long as key players stay fit.

“We are in a better place now,” he said. “We have brought in young Will Greenhorn from Stirling Albion on loan and he has bolstered the defence. I’ve also signed Michael Wallace previously of Camelon and Bo’ness Athletic and he is pushing the numbers up.

"The key thing is that over the next few weeks, I am hopeful of seeing the likes of Danny Ashe, Conor Langton and Morgan Galloway coming back into the fold.”