Rutherglen boss Willie Harvey has praised his side after they pushed high-flying Darvel close and says they’re heading in the right direction.
Glens lost 3-1 at home to the West of Scotland League Premier Division title-chasers on Monday night, following up Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Rossvale, with their hosts bagging a last-gasp leveller to Jack McIlveen’s opener.
But Harvey says the performances have been a marked improvement following their 2-0 Strathclyde Demolition Cup semi-final defeat to Drumchapel on March 12.
Harvey said: “We can take a lot from the game. The boys reacted great, the performance was good and we worked really hard.
“We were playing against a team that quite conceivably could go on and win the league, and we took them all the way. We felt we could have got something out of the game but silly mistakes let us down.
“Don’t get me wrong – our goalkeeper had a good few saves, but we had chances as well.
“The positives is the change in attitude since the Drumchapel debacle – it’s night and day.
“The boys were very unlucky on Saturday against Rossvale to lose a goal in the 91st minute or something like that, and it’s a wonder-strike from 22-23 yards into the top corner.
“The disappointing thing is we should have closed it down earlier. But I can’t take anything away from my boys.”
Harvey added: “We know how angry I was after the Drumchapel game, but the last two performances, we can see ourselves coming back from how we had been playing, and that’s a big, bonus for us going into the games we’ve got coming up.
“I don’t often criticise my team, but I felt it was warranted after the Drumchapel game, and I feel its just as warranted to praise them for the last two games.
“Their attitude is spot-on, their work-rate is good, they’re doing the right things now and working really hard, so I’m pleased.
“I’m not happy with the results, but rather than angry we’re frustrated, and that’s a totally different scenario.
“We’re frustrated, but we feel we just need that one win to really go.
“We’ll push on and hopefully get the points that we need to stay in the division.”
Ex-Glens coach Tony Fraser brings his Cumbernauld United side to the Hamish B. Allan Stadium on Saturday, and Harvey expects a tense tussle.
He said: “Tony is one of our former coaches and he knows us inside-out, knows the players, how we play, so he will be up for it.
“They’re in the position where they’re fighting for points as well to try and stay in the division, so it has all the makings of a really good game.
“The game up at Guys Meadow finished 1-1. We felt we should have taken it, Tony felt they should have taken it, but that’s what makes football such a wonderful thing, because we all have different opinions.
“Come Saturday, we’ll be trying really hard and we expect a really hard game.”
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