Updated: Berwick Rangers manager Kevin Haynes hoping for reaction after 5-0 thumping at Broxburn Athletic
Berwick Rangers manager Kevin Haynes is confident his side will bounce back from their 5-0 thumping away to Broxburn Athletic on Saturday, their biggest defeat during his seven months in charge.
That’s their heaviest hiding since one by the same scoreline away to East Kilbride in December and one goal worse than their largest loss since the 44-year-old took over from Thomas Scobbie in January, by 4-0 hosting East Stirlingshire in February.
Haynes is expecting a reaction to that first defeat of this Scottish Lowland Football League season when ’Shire come calling this Saturday, however, telling the club’s Facebook page: “The good bit is that we’ve got a wrong to put right and we can do it pretty quickly.
“There’s got to be a reaction and it’s got to be a positive reaction. We’ve got to regroup. We have to get back together.
“We were never going to win every game of the season – that’s just not going to happen – but do I expect us to capitulate like that? No, I don’t.
“We’ll be back. The boys have got a bit of fight. They’re hurting, so they’ll react positively, I’m sure.”
Looking back over Berwick’s second loss to Broxburn in three games, he added: “We looked so disjointed and all over the place. We just looked out of sorts.
“We never matched Broxburn’s intensity or their purpose and we were just poor on and off the ball.”
Rangers captain Jamie Pyper opened the scoring in West Lothian at the weekend with a 17th-minute own goal and that was followed by doubles for Shaun Brown on 45 minutes and 65 and Errol Douglas on 83 and 85.
Kick-off versus manager Pat Scullion’s ’Shire at Shielfield Park on Saturday is at 3pm.
They’ve won four of their last six matches against the Falkirk side – by 3-2 in September, 2-1 in August 2023 and 4-1 in January of that year, all away, and by 3-0 at home in August 2022 – with both their losses over that time having come at home, in February and by 2-1 12 months prior to that.
Ahead of that, Berwick, currently 11th in the table on four points from three fixtures, beat Dunipace 2-1 at home on Tuesday to book a place in round three of this season’s East of Scotland Qualifying Cup.
Alfie Robinson and Taylor Hendry got their goals on four minutes and 76 respectively, with Ewan Sutherland replying on ten.