Albion Rovers boss Sandy Clark hailed match-winner Joe Bevan for giving his all for the team in their pre-season win over Alloa on Saturday.
Not only did Bevan net the only goal of the game at the Indodrill, he played in three different positions for Rovers as injuries took their toll on the Lowland League outfit.
The 18-year-old was on target just before half-time, to follow up his goal against Cumbernauld Colts in the NL Cup last week, and Clark praised his striker’s efforts in pre-season so far.
He said: “Joe had a really good end to last season on a personal level and is keeping that going. He’s just a young lad and there was a bit of publicity about his move here – and that’s what happens when you come in and score goals.
“My job here is to try and improve Joe and make him even better as the season progresses. He’s got to knuckle down and work hard, which he’s been doing in pre-season.
“He is in fantastic condition physically. On Saturday I had to play him in three different positions because we had some knocks and he adapted to every position really well.
"That’s a good sign and it’s great that Joe is happy to do that with a smile on his face as well.”
Clark wasn’t reading too much into the result over the League One side ahead of travelling to Championship outfit Raith Rovers for their first competitive match of the season next Tuesday night.
He added: “It was all about getting minutes in the legs and how we develop as a team. The result was irrelevant, but it worked out well and it is good to get into the habit of winning.
“We carried a bit of luck at times but that’s what happens when you work hard and, as a group, the boys did very well. We tired a bit towards the end but I wanted to get as many of them 90 minutes ahead of Raith next week.
“Most of the smaller teams look at the League Cup in the same way, where if you can make some money from it, that’s great, but you use it as preparation for the league. August 5 [the Lowland League opener against Hearts B] is what I’m really looking at and preparing for.”
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