Honours even as Vale of Leithen pick up first home point for over two years against Gala Fairydean Rovers

Gala Fairydean Rovers' Lewis Hall and Vale of Leithen's Mark Deya competing for the ball (Photo: Bill McBurnie)

The Galashiels side were held to a 0-0 draw at Innerleithen’s Victoria Park in the Lowland League Cup a week after beating them 2-1 at their Netherdale home ground in the league.

Not only was that new Vale boss Michael Wilson’s first match in charge since replacing Grant Sandison last week but it also saw them pick up their first point at home since a 1-1 draw against Edinburgh University in December 2019.

Scott, making his first start for Rovers since taking over managerial duties from Neil Hastings in January, was full of praise for the shift put in by a much-changed side even if it failed to deliver another victory, though, describing it as step up from a week previously in their Scottish Lowland Football League game.

Zander Murray on the ball for Gala Fairydean Rovers (Photo: Bill McBurnie)

“I actually thought we played a lot better on Saturday in terms of patterns of play, ball retention and creating opportunities from open play,” said the 36-year-old.

“We played a lot better but we didn’t get the result. Sometimes that’s football in a nutshell.

“I was a little bit disappointed in the fixture the week before in terms of how we played, but I said to the guys after Saturday’s game that you’ll never get criticised for trying to do the right things and trying to play football the right way and that’s what we did.

“There were a lot of elements to the game we were very happy with.

Vale captain Michael Robertson taking on Gala Fairydean Rovers player-manager Martin Scott (Photo: Bill McBurnie)

“We performed pretty well throughout the game. For a good 60 minutes, we played pretty decent, controlled the game, created opportunities, hit the post twice and the crossbar once in the first half, so we probably should have been out of sight by half-time.

“Credit to them, they sat in, had a game-plan and made it very difficult, and we just sort of ran out of ideas towards the end, but it’s a point. It keeps the momentun going.

“Going into this weekend’s game, it’s actually not a bad performance.”

Ex-Ross County and Cove Rangers forward Scott also says he’s now got a better idea of how best to deploy his playing talents after having a few weeks to settle into his new role as boss, with Stevie Craig as his assistant.

Ross Aitchison in possession for Gala Fairydean Rovers (Photo: Bill McBurnie)

“My main focus was prepping the team, obviously speaking to Stevie and stuff like that,” he said.

“I do realise that I’ve still got a lot to offer in terms of adding a different dimension to the team, so I’m there to back up the team if needed.

“If I earn the right to play, I’m sure I can lean on Stevie for that as well and he’ll be honest with me. That’s why I brought Stevie to the club.

“He can tell me truthfully what he thinks, whether I should be playing, should start or should be benched.

Vale of Leithen's Daniel Deya holding off Gala's Lewis Hall (Photo: Bill McBurnie)

“He’s somebody I trust on that side of things, so I’ll lean on Stevie, get his opinion, take my own opinion into it and we’ll just take it from there.

“If it’s something that improves the team and makes them stronger, it’s something I’ll have to think about, but the guys previously had been doing very well so there’s competition for places.”