East Kilbride v Inverness: Kilby reaching last 16 of cup would be remarkable, says boss
Mick Kennedy reckons it would be a remarkable achievement for SPFL newcomers East Kilbride to qualify for the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup.
The Kilby boss has seen his side stun Championship side Raith Rovers 4-2 and sink League Two rivals Elgin City 4-1, having taken the lead in a 3-1 defeat to St Johnstone in their group opener.
Now Group F table-toppers EK welcome League One Inverness Caledonian Thistle to K-Park in the final game of their group campaign, knowing a win would see them finish on nine points.
That would give them the chance of finishing as one of the best runners-up to reach the knockout stages, with group favourites St Johnstone holding a game in hand this coming Saturday.
And Kennedy said: 'We've set everything up now to potentially finish a good second place in the group after Tuesday.
'We've given ourselves a real opportunity to do that against Inverness, but I think everyone is well aware of the test we face. There's been a big turnaround up there in the summer and the recruitment Inverness have done, so it is going to be a really difficult game for us.
'It would be a remarkable achievement for the club to qualify. If you look at the group we are in, there are three full-time clubs in it.
'The group is really strong and it would be a great effort from the boys to finish second and then see what happens.'
On Saturday, Kilby backed up a stunning win in Kirkcaldy last Tuesday night – where John Robertson struck a five-minute hat-trick in the dying minutes to overturn a 2-01 deficit - to thump Elgin 4-1.
Jack Leitch bagged a brace, while Nathan Flanagan and Robertson were also on target, and Kennedy heaped praise on their two victories.
He said: 'Against Raith Rovers we had 60 per cent possession and anybody who watched the game would see that Raith's chances were down to us making mistakes rather than Raith punishing us from open play.
'Over the piece, we dominated large parts and I always felt we were in the game, even at 2-1 down. We are never the kind of team to sit in, so we always have attacking intent and we just went for it and got our rewards.
'On Saturday I was delighted as well. We had 22 efforts at goal in Elgin and the boys were in fine form. We are in a good place.
'If we get to the levels we know we are capable of, I think we will be a really competitive team in the league.
'Sometimes travelling long distances can have an impact on performances, but we were terrific from the get-go.
'There were spells either side of half-time where Elgin looked more dangerous in the game, but over the piece I don't think anyone can deny we deserved to win the game.
'We would have scored a few more if it wasn't for Elgin's goalkeeper.'
Kennedy admits he has been blown away by the strides his side have made in the group, with the competition serving as their pre-season.
He added: 'The boys have been in fine form. We were good for large parts against St Johnstone as well, to be fair.
'Since I have been at the club, our record has been fairly impressive when it has come to playing teams above us.
'I'm delighted with the performances, the results in the last two games and the levels we've managed to get to already, especially when you consider we've had to use this as pre-season because we came back a bit later due to the [promotion] play-offs.
'We've produced these performances despite missing Jamie Hamilton, Cami Elliott, Joao Balde and Jordan McGregor - all key players last season - through injury, so it shows the strength we've managed to build in the group.'
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