Dalbeattie Star boss hoping to end Cumbernauld Colts Lowland League hoodoo

Ritchie Maxwell is hoping his Dalbeattie Star side can end their streak of defeats in Cumbernauld this weekend.

The Islecroft gaffer takes his side to Broadwood to face Cumbernauld Colts who are third bottom of the Lowland League.

But the Lanarkshire venue has never been a happy hunting ground for Star.

Maxwell said: “They’re always a better side at home because they play at Broadwood which is a good surface with a big pitch. Every time we have been there they’ve used that to their advantage.

“They are a good footballing team and I don’t think we’ve ever beat them there – I’m not even sure if we’ve ever taken a point.

“It’s a bit of a bogey ground for us so hopefully we can change that on Saturday. Everybody should be fully fit, we’ll get two sessions in this week and hopefully get a game played and get three points on the board.”

Star faced South of Scotland League opposition during the week when they eased past Lochmaben in the South of Scotland Challenge Cup at Palmerston.

Dylan Cairnie headed Star into an early lead and they could have increased their advantage before the break, on-loan Stranraer striker Ross Irving twice hitting the woodwork.

The forward finally got on the scoresheet early in the second half and, when Cairnie smacked home the third from the edge of the box after an hour, it was as good as game over.

Cairnie hit the post as he looked for a hat-trick before Liam Park converted Russell Currie’s cross to complete the scoring.

Maxwell said: “It was a professional performance from us. We dominated right from the start in terms of possession and chances. The goal was to get through and we did that. We scored four good goals and kept a clean sheet.

“It was good to have a game following the Rangers B game