Gartcairn boss Mick Dunlop expects a “typical cup tie” when they visit Vale of Clyde in the Scottish Junior Cup first round on Saturday.
Both sides go into the clash on good form, with Gartcairn having defeated Rosyth 3-0 in the South Challenge Cup first round on Saturday, while Vale thumped Carluke Rovers 5-0 in the West of Scotland League Third Division.
Dunlop was delighted to come through it and hopes for a similar safe passage this weekend.
He said: “We’ve watched Vale of Clyde already at their ground and it’s not going to be an easy game.
“Their park is quite tight, so it will be a typical cup tie, I would expect, and we’re under no illusions over how difficult that game is going to be.
“We’ll need to be right at it.
“But that’s four competitive games, three wins and a draw, and three wins in a row, as well.
“We’re happy with where we are at the moment. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but if somebody had given me that before the first competitive game I would definitely have taken it.”
Goals from Adam Moss, Liam Watt and Jordan Love gave Cairn a comfortable win, and Dunlop says the cup double-header has been good for them.
He said: “It’s always difficult when you go away from home in a cup tie and it’s against a team you’re not overly familiar with, because they’re not in our league.
“You just want to get a victory and get through to the next round.
“It was a professional performance. It’s good to get the clean sheet as well, because we conceded a few goals in the victory [4-23 at Whitletts Vics] last week.
“But in competitive games that’s three clean sheets out of four, so obviously that’s important for the basis of any success, moving forward.
“We’re really happy to win the game and get through into the next round.”
Dunlop added: “I think the way it has worked out in the early of the season part has been good.
“The first three were your league games, and it’s still very early, but that gives you a feel for where you’re at, because it was a completely new team we built over the summer.
“We were always looking to start as well as possible, keep the momentum going, keep things moving along and the confidence high, and that sets you up for the league matches in September.”
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