Dalbeattie Star 1-2 Gala Fairydean Rovers: Boss Scott delighted as new signing Cusick nets Rovers winner

Saturday’s 2-1 Scottish Lowland Football League victory at Dalbeattie Star saw Aitchison fire home from 25 yards early in the second half, before Star levelled within three minutes through a Ryan Muir goal.

But Rovers won it on 70 minutes when ex-Celtic youth player Cusick made it a dream debut by firing home from the edge of the box after a long ball forward wasn’t dealt with by home keeper Darren Holt who collided with a Gala player.

"Getting a win is obviously quite pleasing on a personal aspect but it’s all about the players,” Scott told The Southern Reporter.

"Everyone’s in it together and it was a good feeling after the game among everyone that we got the result.

“We had a game plan going into it and to be fair to the boys they carried that out to a tee.

"Obviously we scored some lovely goals in amongst that. A beautiful strike from Ross Aitchison which was worthy of winning any game, but that was only the first goal.

"They showed good character as well to bounce back when Dalbeattie scored an equaliser.

"So credit to the boys. For me now, after three games in charge, they’ve shown me they can do a little bit of everything.

"Saturday’s game wasn’t the most pretty on the eye. Obviously the conditions played a part in that, but they showed that they can carry out a game plan to a tee and get that result required.

"In other games they’ve also shown that they’re quite capable of playing flowing, attractive football with high intensity within that.

"My challenge to them going forward would be to try and marinate that all together and I think we’ll be a challenging test for any team in our league.”

Scott revealed that he had prior knowledge of match-winner Cusick – who has signed until the end of the season – from earlier in their careers.

"He was available as a free agent,” the Rovers gaffer added. “I had actually played with Scotty – he was on loan from Dunfermline Athletic when I was at Brechin City.

"So I knew what he was capable of. I knew he would fit into our philosophy and how we want to play the game.

"It gives him an opportunity to get back playing and enjoying his football. It also gives us the opportunity to let him see what we’re about and come the end of the season we’ll assess that one again and see how it goes.

"He’s probably needing a wee bit more game time in terms of match fitness and sharpness.

"But when he gets up to full speed he’ll be a real asset for us.”

Rovers get a break from the league this Saturday, with Scott saying the home East of Scotland Qualifying Cup tie against Bathgate Thistle will give him the chance to refresh the squad by giving fringe players a chance.

"We’ve got healthy competition now with the signings of Ryan Schiavone and Scott Cusick which is always good,” Scott said.