Manager Jamie McKim admits it was painful to see his side narrowly beaten despite playing almost the entire match without a recognised goalkeeper between the sticks.
Johnstone Burgh were hoping to add a valuable three points in their push for a WoSFL First Division promotion spot at Keanie Park on Saturday.
But they were faced with the “nightmare” scenario of having to put an outfield player in goal when No 1 Glen Cameron was forced off injured after just 42 seconds.
With usual second-choice shotstopper Lee Kilbride unavailable due to work commitments for just the first time this season, defender Danny McBeth was forced to don the gloves and try to see his side through.
Despite the early setback Burgh took the lead through Thomas Cruden’s fine finish and almost made it two when Kieran Brophy smashed an effort off the post.
Eventually Benburb did seal all three points, with both goals ultimately down to McBeth’s understandable goalkeeping inexperience. And while McKim refused to blame McBeth, he insists Burgh will make sure they are never caught short again in terms of keeper cover.
He told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “This was the first weekend of the season that Lee was unavailable after being called in to work at late notice.
“We didn’t have time to get any cover in and so to lose Glen inside the first minute was just every manager’s worst nightmare.
“It’s just typical football. The one time we didn’t have a goalkeeper on the bench, our keeper gets injured. It was a disaster and we will make sure it never happens again by getting extra cover sorted.
“It was so tough on my players because we scored a great goal to take the lead and then almost went two ahead from Brophy.
“We were the team pushing for the win and while I’m not going to criticise McBeth, because he was brave enough to stick his hand up and try to fill the gap, ultimately their two goals wouldn’t have happened if we’d had a proper goalkeeper still playing.
“That was the hardest thing to take. Benburb obviously won’t care, but ultimately that was a game we would most likely have won if we’d had that cover we needed.”
Burgh have the perfect opportunity to put last weekend’s pain behind them when they travel to the Hamish B Allan Stadium tomorrow night to take on Rutherglen Glencairn.
With a home clash against title hopefuls St Cadoc’s to follow on Saturday and the table still very tight at the top, McKim is confident his side can recover fully as they enter the business end of their campaign.
He said: “At the end of the day we can’t feel sorry for ourselves anymore about the Benburb game. We’ve got to park it and refocus on what we’re trying to achieve this season.
“We’ve got two massive games this week and the boys need to use that hurt in a positive way. We need to use that determination to put things right on the park.
“I never look at the league table too early in the season but now is the time to start and we are still right in the mix for promotion.
“We want to be ambitious and all we can do now is make sure we approach every game in the right manner. We know we’ve got the quality to hurt teams and that’s what we’re aiming to do this week.”
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