New Vale of Leithen boss Michael Wilson heartened by clean sheet in cup

The Innerleithen side have only got a handful of games left to steer clear of relegation to the East of Scotland Football League premier division, but with 15 points at stake, Wilson reckons they’re still in with a chance of overtaking second-bottom Gretna 2008.

The Borderers, on five points from 29 matches, are six points adrift of the Dumfries and Galloway side, beaten 4-2 by East Stirlingshire last Friday night, but have a game in hand.

Wilson’s first game in charge was a 0-0 Lowland League Cup draw at home to Gala Fairydean Rovers at the weekend and his next is against Berwick Rangers this coming Saturday in the same competition, also at home, with kick-off at 3pm.

“We’ve got one league cup match and five league games to go, four of them at home, so what happens is not a foregone conclusion,” said Wilson, at EoSFL first division conference B outfit Peebles Rovers prior to taking over from Grant Sandison at Victoria Park last week.

“It’ll be very, very difficult to stay up but I believe it can be done, especially after seeing how the players performed on Saturday,” he said.

“They’d conceded 149 goals in the league this season, so for our first game, after one training session, to get a 0-0 draw was an achievement in itself.

“It’s a good time to come in as the cup games are almost a free hit and I can see what we’ve got ahead of the league run-in.”