ARTHURLIE manager Stevie Kerrigan heaped praise on matchwinner Chris Mackie as the striker’s injury-time header gave Lie their first win of the season at Troon.

The teams were level at 2-2 when Mackie converted a Ryan Deas corner to give 10-man Arthurlie the win.

Mackie doubles his playing duties with those of the assistant manager at Dunterlie Park and his manager believes the hours Mackie invests in the club go above and beyond, saying he is an integral part of the club.

He said: “Chris is a big part of Arthurlie. For the money the guy gets paid, as they all do, it’s minimal. He contributes as much if not more than what I do.

“Chris played out of necessity, Gary Smith was unavailable. Chris is a handful and what you can be sure of is every time he plays he gets a chance at some point.

“Out of the 92 minutes he never really got involved in the game but he scores in the last minute to win us the game. He’s just a great goalscorer.”

Kerrigan also reserved praise for Darren Gribben, who made a sparkling contribution off the bench. With the game tied at 1-1, and Lie down to 10 men after Gavin Rushford was dismissed, a moment of magic from Gribben put Arthurlie in front.

Kerrigan said: “Darren Gribben came on and showed why I brought him to the club. I’ve seen him do that numerous times, he can produce something from nothing.

“It was a goal that could grace any level of football.”

The Lie now go into Saturday’s clash with newly-promoted Cumnock at Dunterlie in a buoyant mood.

Kerrigan is adamant these are the type of games Arthurlie should be claiming maximum points from if they are to stay clear of relegation trouble this season.

He said: “These are the games I would hope that we would dominate possession and create plenty of chances.

“We’ve reached a good level in the last couple of weeks and if we can maintain that consistency I think we’ll do well.”

Meanwhile, there was some bad news on the injury front for Kerrigan as centre back Jordan Chisholm, signed from Petershill in the summer, is likely to be out until around Christmas after suffering a broken arm and wrist.

However Kerrigan is unlikely to bring in a replacement as he is happy with the alternatives already in the squad.

He said: “Jordan Chisholm looks like he’ll be out for a while, he’s broken his arm and his wrist. He’s been told he can’t have any contact on it for another six weeks so we’ll probably lose him until around Christmas time.

“I’m comfortable we have cover there. We have Gavin Rushford, Mark Blakey and David Morrison who can fill in.”