Cambuslang Rangers co-boss Billy Campbell admits their opening day defeat in the top flight was a steep learning curve for his side, but he’s still seen plenty in the performance that offers him encouragement for the season ahead.
Visitors Beith ran out 3-1 winners at Somervell Park on Saturday after Callum McLean had equalised to pull Camby level going into the half-time interval.
It was Camby’s first match in the Premier Division after last season’s Conference B title win and it proved to be a bit of a reality check for the squad.
And although he had some positives to take from the clash, Campbell and co-boss Paul McColl warned his side they need to learn from their mistakes if they are to make a fist of it in a division that includes the likes of big spending Auchinleck Talbot, Pollok and Darvel.
“It was a bit of a sharp learning curve for them right away,” Campbell conceded. “Is it a surprise to Paul and I? Absolutely not. We know fine well what’s coming here if we don’t turn up.
“It was as tough as we were expecting it to be but we never got to grips with the game in the first 20 minutes.
“We settled in after that and we were playing relatively well.
“We got the equaliser and came in at half-time, feeling positive.
“There were a couple of things tweaked and then we lose an early goal to go 2-1 down. But we are still in the game at that point. We had a chance with Callum but unfortunately he didn’t take it. Then we make another fundamental error and get punished.
“Were they major mistakes? No, but they were enough where, at this level and the calibre of player you are playing against, you get punished.
“So from that perspective it has been a bit of an attention grabber for the boys.
“They know we need to be tidier and tighter all over the park. Overall our play was okay. We weren’t miles off it, but I’m disappointed with the goals we lost.”
Camby now travel to Ayrshire to face Cumnock this Saturday and it will serve up another tough test.
However, the visitors will hope to have a stronger quad to choose from.
Campbell added: “We have a massive challenge here. This is a huge step for the club and a huge step for some of the lads. We are one game in and we’ve got many challenges ahead.
“We’ve told the boys there’s going to be some bumps in the road.
“That wasn’t us at full strength and it takes a while for everyone to get going.
“Scott Faulds has just come back from holiday, Tony Stevenson is out injured but we’ve got confidence in the boys that they’ll work hard for Saturday.”
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