NEW recruit Paul Thomson scored his first competitive goal for Thorn Athletic on Saturday as they secured a 1-0 victory over Dalziel.

The Caledonian Premier League match escaped the clutches of Storm Eunice, with Thomson finding the net for the Johnstone outfit with just 20 minutes left to play.

An uncharacteristic run of three league games without a win, including a 4-2 defeat in the reverse fixture against Dalziel in mid-December, had meant a positive result was Thorn's priority, to keep them within touching distance of league leaders Dumbarton Academy.

However, manager Johnny McEwan will also be pleased by the way his team earned the three points, as Thorn produced their most dominant performance of the year so far, despite losing Muir McCluskey after two bookable offences.

McEwan said: “We controlled the match and, even when we went down to ten men, we were still in the ascendency.

“It was a big three points, as it keeps us right there in contention going into the last third of the season.

“We have a few of our suspensions and long-term injuries coming back now, which will also help at a critical time.

"It was good to see Paul get his first competitive goal for us, as he worked his socks off for the team and led from the front, but we had a number of excellent performances throughout the team.”

Tomorrow, Thorn host Eaglesham in the second round of the Douglas Smith League Cup.

The match will be played at Thorn’s temporary home – the Mossedge Village sports complex, in Linwood.

McEwan said: “This is going to be a tough one, as Eaglesham have proven they are dangerous opponents.

“We still have two or potentially three cup competitions to play in, so we want to go as far as we can in them all and hopefully that can spin off into the league campaign if we can get to the latter stages.”