JOHNSTONE Burgh co-manager Colin Smith praised his side for containing former Celtic player Bobby Petta on his much-heralded Rossvale debut.

The Bishopbriggs side recently confirmed the capture of the 41-year-old Dutchman who was at Parkhead for five and half years.

Rossvale successfully tempted him out of retirement for a crack at the juniors, however Burgh spoiled his bow by running out 3-1 winners and he was subbed at half-time.

Smith praised his side for not giving Petta the space to have an influence on the tie.

He said: “He played in the hole behind the striker and found pockets of space at times. But we closed him down quickly and he never really caused us too many problems.

“Whether he’s match fit I don’t know but when he gets on the ball you can still see he has that touch of class over the first couple of yards but we coped well with him.

“He only lasted 45 minutes, our younger boys did well against him.”

In the battle between two teams promoted from the Central District Second Division last season, Smith believes Burgh put on one of their best performances of the season.

Rossvale had only been beaten once in the league prior to Saturday’s match and Smith believes it was the work rate of his team which got them through in difficult conditions.

He added: “They had only been beaten once in the league all season so it was a great result especially at their park.

“It’s definitely up there with out best performances this season, in terms of team spirit and everyone working for each other.

“The conditions were terrible for both teams.

“It was wet and windy and everyone rolled their sleeves up and that’s what got us through.”