Gala Fairydean Rovers end wait for second league win of season

Almost three months on from their 1-0 opening-day victory at Cowdenbeath in July, the Borderers came up trumps on the road again near Falkirk at the weekend, coming from behind to get the better of their hosts by 5-1.

On-loan Kilmarnock striker Noah Simpson racked up his first senior hat-trick past home No 1 Lewis McMinn on eight minutes, 26 and 38 and substitutes Lennon Connolly and James Clare added further goals on 65 and 86 after Callum MacDonald had put their Westfield Park hosts in front with three minutes on the clock.

Also starting for the visitors, captained by Liam Fagan, were goalkeeper Reece Murray, Greg Macpherson, Arnault Kasa, Jared Lyons, McKenzye Campbell, Daniel Martins, Che Reilly, Zack Tomany and Tylar Denholm, with David Chalmers, Danny Galbraith, Lewis Hall, Ross Lamb and Daniel Strickland joining Connolly and Clare on the bench.

That result lifts interim manager Steven Noble’s club up to 13th in the table, on six points from ten fixtures, with opposite number Danny Smith’s ’Pace dropping to second from bottom, on four from ten.

Separating them, in 14th place on five points from ten games, are former Fairydean gaffer Martin Scott’s Berwick Rangers, beaten 1-0 at home to second-placed Linlithgow Rose on Saturday.

Berwick are Fairydean’s next opponents at home at Netherdale Stadium this coming Saturday and that’s a 3pm start in Galashiels.

They’ve then got another home game next Wednesday, against fourth-placed Broxburn Athletic, with kick-off at 7.45pm.

Rovers enjoyed mixed fortunes against Berwick last term, losing 2-1 at home in December, three months on from winning the reverse fixture at Shielfield Park 3-2.

Much the same went for Broxburn, with Rovers losing 1-0 on the road in West Lothian last October, a month after beating them 2-1 at home. They’ve since met this season, with Fairydean losing 1-0 on the road at the end of July.

Welcoming Saturday’s long-awaited return to winning ways, Noble told the club’s Facebook page: “I thought the boys were excellent.

“We went a goal down after a couple of minutes and we were a wee bit disappointed with that, but as we settled into the game, I felt we really started to take control.

“From then on, we looked stronger and we grew into the game.

“The players have been showing signs in recent games. Their performances have been really good and I though that goals could come in some of these upcoming games, so I’m delighted for the players to win.

“It was a badly-needed win in the league and something definitely to build on.

“It gives them a huge boost. It’s been a wee while since we’d won in the league.

“Our performances over the last three games have been outstanding and I had real belief that they could come and do that today.

“Every player gave everything. They’ve set that standard over the last two or three games and that’s what we asked of them – just to build on what they’ve been doing.”

Looking ahead to Berwick visiting, he added: “We’re going into that game feeling good anout ourselves but Berwick are a real top team when they’re on their game.

“We know their manager very well and he’ll have them well organised and set up and it’ll be a real derby game. These games are huge for us and they’re huge for Berwick. We’re looking forward to a really exciting game.”