Gala Fairydean Rovers forced to settle for point against Cumbernauld Colts after blowing two-goal lead

​Instead, a 4-4 draw at their Netherdale Stadium home ground in Galashiels saw them forced to settle for their first point against Cumbernauld since January 2023.

That point, their fourth of the current Scottish Lowland Football League season, leaves them third from the bottom of the table after nine fixtures ahead of a break this coming Saturday for a South Region Challenge Cup tie hosting Camelon Juniors, with kick-off at 3pm.

Sean Borland put the visitors in front on 22 minutes and restored their lead three minutes later after a Lewis Hall equaliser in the interim and midfielder Tommy Sharp, on 32 minutes and 46, and fellow loanee Logan Sinclair, on 44, put the Borderers 4-2 in front at half-time, but John Binnie, on 50, and Aiden Malcolm, just after the hour mark, denied their hosts their first league win since March.

Fairydean manager Martin Scott was disappointed that his side were unable to see the match out to pick up three points but was heartened by the way they bounced back from a 7-0 walloping away to Tranent four days earlier.

“It’s difficult when you reflect on the game and how well the guys actually did, but if you were being critical of our performance, were we ruthless enough when we were on top for large spells? Probably not,” said the 38-year-old.

“Did we allow the moments that Cumbernauld had to affect the game? Yes, they capitalised on them, and if you don’t see the game out and you make changes towards the end, it can get a bit disjointed and it’s always going to be difficult to win.

“Some of our performances have been really good for large spells of the games we’ve picked points up from – it’s just those moments when we’ve been under a bit of sustained pressure that we’ve not had the breaks we’d have liked.

“At the start of our league campaign, we’ve played five of the teams in the top half of the table away from home. We’ve not had many games at home and I think you can really see the difference when we do play at home and we’re in our own environment in how well we move the ball and how dangerous and threatening we can be, and that’s probably had a snowball effect on our confidence in those different situations.

“If you’ve been at home and you’ve seen games out, that builds confidence and resilience.

“Now, at this stage of the season, we’re maybe second-guessing ourselves.”

Scott reckons his team are on the up, however, and is hoping to see further improvement.

“We’re a young team, but that’s not an excuse,” he said.

“It’s a learning curve for them and I think there’s been progression there.

“After drawing away to Albion Rovers, we took a heavy defeat against Tranent and that shows you the gulf in class we’ve got at both ends of the pitch. We’ve got to aspire to be better at both ends of the pitch.

“Everything between both boxes I’ve been really happy with in terms of possession, and we’ve probably dominated the ball against most teams, and that’s including some of the top-five sides.”