Frew back from death

Published 2 Dec 2009 16:09 0 Comments

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Renfrew 3 West Calder United 2

RENFREW boss Dougie Mitchell praised his side's never-say-die attitude after battling back from two goals down against West Calder United in the Emirates Junior Cup on Saturday.

The Frew looked like they would crash out of the cup as the West Lothian side went 2-0 up inside 20 calamitous minutes at Western Park in the first half which saw Clinton Maxwell score an own goal.

But new-signing David Gray netted a double before Stephen Reid fired them into the fourth round.

Mitchell was delighted with his side's battling spirit, but admitted he was made to sweat by his side's sloppy defending.

He said: "We went 2-0 down after 20 minutes and I was a bit uncomfortable with our defending.

"Myself, Colin and Martin were a bit frustrated that we were back to our old problem of giving away stupid goals.

"It wasn't one of our better wins and we made it hard for ourselves, but earlier in the season we would have been dead and buried from going 2-0 down.

"The boys did well to fight back and there were positives to take from the game. David Gray from Rob Roy got two of our goals and Stephen Reid won it for us.

"Another positive to take was the fact Neil Shearer came through the game which was a big plus to have him back.

"Conceding these goals aren't just our problem. A lot of teams have the same problem with their defence, but this is a problem we will talk to the players about and work on."

Neilston are the visitors on Saturday in a crunch local derby.

And despite the Farmer's Boys being bottom of the table, Mitchell is taking nothing for granted and won't be treating Neilston lightly.

The Frew drew 4-4 in an eight-goal thriller at Brig o' Lea back in September, but the Renfrew manager insists they should have come away with all three points.

He added: "It is an enormous match for us. We should have won at Brig o' Lea at the start of the season.

"That was two points dropped for us and that's something I want to put right.

"We will put our cup games in the back burner and look ahead to this league game. We are taking it one game at a time as always.

"I am not looking at where other teams are because I know any team can beat anyone in this league. To me it doesn't matter where Neilston are in the league and we can't take them lightly. But we are at home and I am looking for the three points." Renfrew's vital league match with Neilston kicks off at 1.45pm on Saturday at Western Park.

This article appeared in The Gazette 02 Dec 09

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