Pumpherston boss Darren Pegg heaped praise on his side following their 2-0 away win at Stoneyburn.
The visitors went into the clash on the back of a 7-0 loss to free-scoring East of Scotland Division Three leaders Bo’ness Athletic but showed no hangover from that with two early goals at Beechwood Park.
Aaron Gowans had forced a save from Fulshie keeper Connor Shaw early on before getting the better of the stopper on five minutes.
He showed great composure to slot home after being played through and they would double their lead within 10 minutes as Sam Thomas was the beneficiary off a slack defensive pass to roll in Pumphy’s second.
Stoneyburn struggled to recover from that early double setback and were lucky not to fall further behind when Ryan Cumming connected with a wonderful Chris Rooney delivery at the back post but could only head wide while Dean McConnell produced a last ditch tackle to prevent Keiran Sweeney from having an attempt on goal.
To their credit, Steven Sharp’s side came out after the break much improved and went close to reducing the deficit when Cammy Donaldson’s attempt was hooked off the line by Ston skipper Darren Smith while strong shouts for a penalty were turned down after a collision between Baley Ferris and keeper Marc Anderson.
A sturdy defensive display ensured the visitors always looked set for the three points and they almost wrapped things up twice in the final moments as Campbell Anthony and then substitute David McKeon were unable to find the net.
That insurance wasn’t needed, though as they comfortably held on for a deserved three points.
Pegg commented: “In the first-half we had a real go and created a good few opportunities. We probably should have been ahead by more at the break to be honest. We squandered a couple of good chances.
“At half-time the chat was simple, I told them if they don’t lose a goal then we win the game and we were really solid defensively. Stoneyburn turned the screw a bit but we defended so well - and that’s not easy when you’ve just conceded seven the week before.”
He added: “The clean sheet was just as important because it gives the guys confidence. It was great to see that they didn’t let last weeek impact them and we got off to a fast start.”
The gaffer is half way through his maiden campaign with the club and says there’s been plenty of signs of improvement, commenting: “The first objective was to get the same number of points as last season and we did that before Christmas.
“We were actually on a run of one defeat in 10 before the bad weather hit and we didn’t play for six weeks.
“Sitting mid-table is a very good start but we want to push forward. Every week there’s been improvement and that’s the main target. If we keep doing that, the results will take care of themselves.”
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