JOHNSTONE Burgh boss Jamie McKim praised his players for passing their latest test with flying colours by defeating Glasgow University at the weekend.

A 57th-minute Brian Connor goal was enough to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the Penny Cars Stadium, in Airdrie, and send Burgh into the top four of Conference A in the West of Scotland Football League for the first time this season.

The Keanie Park team were a man short for the last 20 minutes, after Jason Hardie was shown a red card, but held on to make it 10 games without defeat.

McKim said he was delighted to bag all three points and reckons the artificial surface helped his attack-minded players.

He added: “Glasgow Uni are a really good side, so we’re delighted to come away with three points.

“For our attacking players, the grass parks can sometimes affect their game but having the surface we did on Saturday and being able to play and move it quickly shows how good they are and brings out the best in them.

“The quality of the goal on Saturday showed that – it was really top play.

“It’s another clean sheet for us. Our defensive form has been really good and we need to keep that up.

“After the start to the season we had, it was always going to be hard to climb the table but, in the last ten games, we’ve had that consistency.”

McKim also welcomed a decision by league chiefs to award Burgh a 3-0 win over Maryhill after their match that was due to be played in November was postponed.

The late call-off happened after Maryhill allowed two youth games to take place on their pitch earlier that day, leaving it unplayable.

McKim also hit out over comments that suggested Burgh didn’t want the match to be played.

“I’m glad that shambles is over,” he said. “Some of the comments have been nothing short of embarrassing from Maryhill as a club.

“I would suggest the team that didn’t want to play was probably the one that put two games on their park beforehand on a grass pitch in the middle of November.

“I think it’s the right decision for the integrity of the competition. If we’re going to allow teams to pick and choose when they make their park playable and unplayable, then the league would be in trouble.”

Burgh have no competitive fixture this weekend but will be back in action on March 5, when they play Irvine Victoria at Keanie Park.