NEILSTON boss Andy Whiteford praised his side’s fighting spirit after the Farmers’ Boys produced a dogged display to overcome Maryhill.

In difficult conditions at the Brig O’Lea, Neilston struggled to get a hold of the game in a pitch soft underfoot but eventually came through with two goals in the final 10 minutes to keep their promotion push on track.

And, with nine games remaining, Neilston remain on course for promotion, with a number of games in hand over their nearest rivals.

He said: “I thought the performance the boys put on was good, especially in the tough conditions as the park was very soft and that made it very difficult to play any sort of decent football.

“On paper it may look like a comfortable win but there is a lot more to it than that.

“At times it looked like we may need to settle for the draw as we missed a few chances in the final third but eventually the goals came and I’d say over the piece we probably just shaded the tie.

“It was the sort of performance and determination to win that you need at this stage of the season and I was impressed with the lads’ never say die attitude as they pushed for the winner.” Late goals have helped Neilston accumulate a number of points over the season and Whiteford admitted it has been a key attribute over the course of the season.

With the start of the midweek fixtures tonight (Wednesday) against St Anthony’s, Whiteford hopes his side can carry their good form into the closing stages of the season.

He added: “We showed how patient we can be with the two goals and those three points may prove crucial come the end of the season.

“We have said all season that there are no easy games and Saturday’s win was similar to our match against Lanark earlier in the season but, we have made ourselves hard to beat.

“We are prepared to roll our sleeves up but we also know we have to be patient, starting tonight against the Ants.”