East Kilbride boss hails side 'absolutely outstanding' after sinking Edinburgh City in friendly

Mick Kennedy hailed the first half performance from his East Kilbride side “absolutely outstanding” as they defeated League Two outfit Edinburgh City in a friendly on Friday night.

Fresh from having impressed in a 4-2 defeat to Scott Brown’s Ayr United last Tuesday night, Kilby ran out 3-2 victors over a side they regularly competed with in the early days of the Lowland League.

John Robertson broke the deadlock at K-Park after just eight minutes with a close-range finish before a Joao Balde belter on the half-volley rattled in off the crossbar after 27 minutes to have Kilby cruising at the break.

A quick-fire double late in the game from City striker Connor Young looked to have earned the visitors a draw, but Keir Samson popped up in the 83rd minute to head home the winner for EK.

Delighted boss Kennedy beamed: “The first 45 minutes we were outstanding. We made a lot of changes in the second half and three or four trialists came in as well, which disrupted things slightly, but we were absolutely outstanding up to that point.

“I was delighted with the performance. We were in total control for large parts so I couldn’t be any happier. The squad is looking good. We are in a strong position and probably have one or two more to add to the group, then we get ready for the season ahead.”

Reacting to the Ayr game, where Kilby trailed 2-0, fought back to 2-2 thanks to a Robertson double, before conceding again in the 60th and 90th minute, Kennedy added: “We were excellent against Ayr as well.

“We gave them two goals of a start early on, but we were properly in control of the game for long spells after that and created some really good opportunities.

“Scott [Brown] went with a strong team for the first 67 minutes but I was