Threave Rovers have made a dream start to life in the West of Scotland League.
They thumped Glenvale 5-1 on Saturday in their first game since moving from the South of Scotland over the summer.
Dean Brotherston scored four of the goals with Lewis Todd getting the other as the Castle Douglas side romped to victory in Paisley.
Assistant manager Kevin Somerville said: “Everybody involved with the club has been working towards making sure we were ready to go in the West, even though there had been some criticism from other people for moving leagues.
“Everybody should be really proud of what happened, from the chairman to the coaching staff, and there was a good following of supporters who had made the effort as well which the players really appreciated.
“Our physio Catriona Clark had managed to get Scott Milligan and Dean Brotherston on the pitch which was a doubt all week. It showed it was a massive effort from everybody.
“Glenvale started well. They’re a decent side and came after us in the first 10 or 15 minutes and the guys did well to stick to their game-plan. We kept trying to get the ball moving and that paid off. We played through them a few times in the opening minutes.
“We suffered a blow when Hugh Cameron had to come off injured but credit to Adam Uphill who was disappointed not to start. He went in at centre-back which probably isn’t his strongest position and he settled us down.
“Dean Brotherston will probably get the plaudits, and rightly so, but everybody round about him played well. We controlled the middle of the park. The back four defended well against their threat. We made a wee mistake to give them their goal but the guys reacted well and it was an excellent performance.
“The only downside is when you beat someone fairly heavily away from home in the first game it makes everyone else realise we’re a decent team so it puts a target on our back but guys like Lewis Sloan, Danny Dunglinson and Dean Brotherston are used to that.”
It was Brotherston who bagged Threave’s first goal in their new league when he scored from Ryan Coates’ cross, Todd adding the second just before the break.
Darren Taylor pulled one back early in the second half but Brotherston restored the lead before completing his hat-trick 15 minutes from time.
And the former Dalbeattie Star man scored the fourth late on to complete a fine afternoon – a performance made all the more remarkable by his fitness woes.
Somerville said: “He didn’t train on Monday, he was at the physio. He went to see a chiropractor to get some specialist treatment and he did a bit of training on Wednesday.
“He had built up to playing in the first game and wasn’t going to miss it. If I’d left him out I dread to think what the reaction would have been!
“It shows his quality, he made sure he was ready. He probably only touched the ball 20 times and scored four goals.”
Threave play their first home game of the season on Saturday when they face Campbeltown Pupils – who will be making a round-trip of nearly 500 miles to play at Meadow Park.
Somerville added: “They had a win at the weekend so will be coming down as confident as we are.
“We’re expecting a decent turnout for our first home game in the West.”
