Berwick Rangers keep up winning ways with fifth victory on spin

Berwick Rangers goal-scorer Liam Buchanan on the ball against Rangers B at Shielfield Park on Saturday (Pic: Ian Runciman)

That result, the same scoreline manager Stuart Malcolm’s side ran up against the Scottish Premiership outfit’s colts in the reverse fixture in Dumbarton in October, sees them stay in seventh place in the Scottish Lowland Football League, with 50 points from 30 fixtures.

It was secured, in front of a crowd of almost 570 at Shielfield Park, by goals from Michael Travis on 35 minutes, Lewis Baker on 38 and Liam Buchanan on 74.

Travis’s goal was a near-post header from a Jordan Sinclair free-kick, Baker’s from the penalty spot for what was deemed to be a foul on Buchanan and Buchanan’s a shot across goal into the far corner of the net.

Malcolm, 43, was chuffed to bits to see his team keep up their winning ways, telling their Facebook page: “I’m absolutely delighted. Our results since December have been sensational. It’s been great.

“I thought we were really good. I’m absolutely ecstatic.

“To beat any Rangers team is a real coup, to be honest.

“We were set up well, we didn’t change shape, we stayed brave, we stayed 4-4-2.

“I thought the longer the first half went we grew into the game more and scored a good goal from a set-piece.

“The penalty kick was probably a little bit fortuitous, I think, but we’ve had them against us plenty of times and also not got them, so we take the good with the bad.”

Berwick are back at Shielfield Park this coming Saturday to take on Edinburgh University, with kick-off at 3pm, and they’ll be looking to pull off another winning double, having beaten the students 1-0 in the reverse fixture in the capital at the end of September.

Malcolm is expecting to field a little-changed line-up for that match, saying: “When you’re winning, you roll over week to week and you know what your team’s going to be unless someone has a knock.

“It is pretty easy as a manager when a team’s winning because you’re not looking to change anything. You’re looking just to keep the wheels turning.

“Every one of them’s deserved his chance in the team and the opportunity to stay in the team.”