01-05-2025
Hurlford United draw sets up Benburb cracker for Shotts, says boss
Shotts boss John McKeown says a 1-1 draw with Hurlford United was a good point on the road, with their hosts 'kicking the door in', as they moved further away from the West of Scotland Premier Division drop-zone. Robbie Torrance's opener was cancelled out by Lewis Morrison after a lengthy halt to the game as United's Liam Miller received treatment for a concussion, and is thankfully on the mend. A shock 4-0 win over Johnstone Burgh, and a 1-1 draw with Troon last weekend, means it has been a good week for Shotts, but Benburb caught up with them on 22 points with a 3-2 win over Johnstone Burgh on Wednesday night, as Shotts prepare to host them on Saturday. However, the Hannah Park clash gives Shotts a chance to move three points clear of their rivals. McKeown said: 'Being out of the relegation zone is good, and we were fantastic the other night. To beat Johnstone Burgh 4-0 was well above most people's expectations, so that was a great result, and to go back down to Ayrshire and not get beat was good. 'That's five unbeaten, we're on a good run of form just now, at the right time, and we have three cup finals to go. 'It's a game at a time. Benburb play Johnstone Burgh on Wednesday night, so they'll be a wee bit like we were on Saturday, they'll have a tough schedule over the next week. 'It does catch up with you, at this time of the season it becomes difficult to play all those games. 'But we get a bit of a welcome rest this week and then we'll roll on to a huge one on Saturday.' Goals from Ally Martin, Robbie Torrance, Rico De Marco and an own-goal, all in the second half, gave Shotts a 4-0 win at home to third-placed Johnstone Burgh on Wednesday, and they followed that up with a draw at Blair Park on Saturday. McKeown said: 'Their [Hurlford's] goal wasn't as late as it's made out to be, the game was stopped for about 15 minutes because of a head knock [to Hurlford's Liam Miller], one of their players was unconscious, so it was probably about the 75th minute, not the 90th that it looks like. 'To be fair to Hurlford, they were absolutely kicking the door in, they were all over the top of us. 'We looked very tired, had a few players unavailable at the weekend, lost a few players to injury, and Hurlford were more than deserved of their equaliser, if I'm being honest. 'I'd probably come away saying it was a good point, if anything, and that's been five huge points for us.'
