Dalbeattie Star boss urges players not to let season "fizzle out" after Gala defeat

Dalbeattie Star boss Ritchie Maxwell has urged his players not to let the season “fizzle out”.

Star went down 2-1 to Gala Fairydean Rovers at Islecroft on Saturday after a disappointing display in difficult conditions.

And Maxwell said: “I thought we were pretty flat. We’re in a position we’ve not been in the last couple of seasons where, coming into the last third of the season, we’re safe but we’re not sitting at the top of the league either.

“We’re in the mid section and I think the important thing is we make sure we maintain the players’ focus and motivation.

“We don’t just want to let the season fizzle out. We have targets and want to make sure we reach those targets.”

Gala scored early in the second half thanks to Ross Aitchison’s tremendous goal before Ryan Muir quickly restored parity.

The decisive moment came 20 minutes from the end with Scott Cusick bagging the winner as Gala triumphed at Islecroft for the fourth game running.

Maxwell said: “It wasn’t a great spectacle from either team and conditions obviously played a massive part in that.

“Both teams were pretty direct. There were a lot of mistakes. “Their first goal was an unbelievable strike from distance and I think the first goal was always going to be important with the way the game was panning out.

“We managed to get ourselves an equaliser when Ryan Muir scored a really good goal but the winning goal is disappointing from our perspective.

“We lost possession in the middle of the park, our goalie Darren Holt has come out and collided with their striker and the second boy has tapped it in.

“It was a really disappointing performance from our perspective. I thought it was a good opportunity to get another three points and cement our place in the top 10 and