Stevie Farrell praises Johnstone Burgh’s response after 7-1 cup win over Eglinton

Johnstone Burgh manager Stevie Farrell praised his side’s professional performance after Saturday’s 7-1 South Region Challenge Cup victory over Eglinton at Keanie Park.

Burgh recovered from conceding in the 12th minute, with Thomas Orr scoring a 13-minute hat-trick. Aaron Mason added two goals, while Ben Brown and Zak McKay also scored to secure a place in the fourth round.

Speaking after the match, Farrell said he was pleased with how his players approached the tie against lower-league opposition.

Farrell said it was important that his players maintained the same standards and habits they would need in their upcoming league fixtures.

He said: “You’ve just got to make sure that it’s about you and that’s no disrespect, you’ve got to make sure that you do the right things.”

The manager explained that his players had been instructed to stick to their usual approach, particularly in how they build attacks and finish chances.

Farrell admitted the opening goal conceded was poor by his side’s standards but felt it prompted a positive reaction.

He said: “So, we go behind, it’s a poor goal for our standards to lose but it probably gave us a wee jag to be fair and I thought they were excellent, the reaction for that was really, really good and it was a professional performance.”

Farrell was also pleased to see under-20 development player Ben Brown score on his first-team debut.

He revealed that Brown had caught his attention when he watched the club’s under-20 side the previous week.

Farrell said: “I went and watched the 20s last week and he was one that just caught my eye in terms of playing in that ten and that pocket.”

He also praised Brown’s technical ability and his movement into the penalty area to finish Scott Williamson’s cross in the 73rd minute.

Zak McKay scored his first goal for the club in the 89th minute, with Farrell explaining that the forward still needs time to reach the required fitness level.

The manager suggested it could take three weeks or longer for McKay to reach that level and pointed to his previous goalscoring experience.

Farrell also discussed Johnstone Burgh’s injury problems, revealing that the club has a number of players unavailable.

He initially referred to nine players before mentioning eight, with Ian McShane having suffered a rib injury.

Farrell stressed the importance of getting players back as the club prepares for the winter months.

He said: “Big, big players, we need them back, I’ve just put a wee bit of pressure on the physio there, saying we need to keep working hard to get them back because we’ve got a long winter ahead of us and we need to make sure we’re as strong as we possibly can.”

He added: “So, it’ll be important to get these players coming back to us in the next two or three weeks.”

Turning to Thomas Orr’s hat-trick, Farrell spoke about his long working relationship with the striker and praised his ability inside the penalty area.

He said: “Thomas, he’s a penalty box striker, he’s a penalty box nine.”

Farrell was particularly pleased with Orr’s opening goal, describing the finish as composed.

He said: “Thomas, particularly his first finish today, it’s a great finish. It’s just composed and Thomas is a very, very good finisher, so delighted for him. He needed that.”

Johnstone Burgh now travel to Raydale Park to face Gretna 2008 in the Scottish Lowland League West on Saturday 17th October, with kick-off at 3pm.

Farrell acknowledged that Gretna have improved in recent weeks and expects a difficult match.

He said: “They’ve picked up, they’re going well in the last few weeks, so we know it’s going to be a tough game.”

The Burgh manager confirmed that his players would train on Monday and Wednesday ahead of the trip.

He added: “We’ve got to go there and if we’re going to get anything out of the game, we need to do our very best and we’ll work Monday, Wednesday and make sure we prepare right for the game on Saturday.”