Sandy Clark: Shire boss hails back-to-back Lowland League victories

The Falkirk side defeated eleventh-placed Gala Fairydean Rovers on Saturday 2-0 at Netherdale, building on their 1-0 win over East Kilbride last midweek.

On the day, a second half quick-fire double sealed the three points for Clark’s side, with Connor Greene and Scott Honeyman the scorers.

Full-back Tony Coutts also made a welcome return to Shire’s defence, playing for the first time since October after a lengthy period out injured.

"It is funny how football goes sometimes,” Clark explained. “We’ve played better in a few games since I joined the club and actually lost.

"We weren’t amazing on the day by any means but it is actually a great sign that we came through it.

"Our goalkeeper Ross Connelly had a fair amount of saves to make and it was open game, both sides could have scored a few goals and it was an even match.

"We’ve had matches like that before and lost out – so it was nice this time around to have that wee break in the game go our way for a change.

"The second goal for us was the important one and we got a wee break in the build-up.

“I keep telling the guys that if we work hard then the breaks will come and that is what happened for us on Saturday.

"We are looking more street-wise now and our organisation is way better than it was previously.”

The Shire now host second bottom Edinburgh University on Friday night, as they look to make it three wins in a row for the first time this campaign.

Clark says staying focused is the key to achieving this goal, and is wary of complacency despite the students having only notched two league wins all season long.

"The one thing I am very aware of, as are the players, is that we can’t go into any game not on it,” he said. "The Edinburgh University game is a winnable one for us but we have to approach the match in the right manner and turn up on the night.

"All of those cliches come into play for a game like this and if we don’t apply ourselves properly then we won’t come out of it with the three points.”