Dalbeattie Star boss gets hoped for reaction against Newton Stewart

Dalbeattie Star boss Eddie Warwick got the reaction he was hoping for against Newton Stewart on Saturday.

The Islecroft gaffer had been left fuming after his side lost 4-2 to Stranraer and called on his players to show their bottle.

And they provided the perfect response at the weekend with a 3-1 win to secure their progress in the Tweedie Cup.

Warwick said: “We looked sharp, full of energy and certainly fought a lot harder and looked a lot hungrier than the previous weeks.

“Whatever we did during the week must have worked to push a few buttons so we’re very pleased with the performance, particularly the start to the game. We hadn’t started well in the last three or four weeks and it was something we needed to change.

“It’s only one game, we’re not going to get too carried away, but hopefully that’ll set the trend for us to get back on it.”

Star had led through Olly Meechan’s goal but Aaron Drysdale equalised after an hour.

Russell Williamson put Star back in front 20 minutes from the end before Cammy Shaw secured their progress.

Warwick said: “They were told a few home truths, maybe a few had question marks on their heads and they were being asked a few questions as well.

“I think it’s a collective thing, maybe they realised the standards they were delivering weren’t good enough, or maybe we needed a run of games that are battles.

“There was a clear difference – we did more running and more grafts in the first 20 minutes on Saturday than in the whole 90 minutes the previous week.

“That’s clearly down to a mentality thing.

“You can’t really take your foot off the gas in football. We’ve learned our lesson, it was a tough lesson, and hopefully we move on.

“It was quite an even game at 1-1, both