Neilston’s hopes of glory in the Central League Cup were dashed at the first round stage on Saturday as they were outgunned by Blantyre Vics.

The Farmer’s Boys slumped to a 2-0 defeat and can now turn their attention towards their push for promotion.

It was a well-deserved win for Blantyre, who controlled much of the proceedings at New Tinto Park, with the tie switched to Benburb’s home as the recent bad weather had left both teams’ home turf at risk of being unfit for play.

Neilston co-manager Martin Campbell admits he has no complaints over the scoreline.

He said: “We just didn’t start well and, to be honest, we were quite flat.

“They scored after about 20 minutes and kind of killed us off.

“We just didn’t impose ourselves in the game at all. We probably had about two shots at goal from Martin Curran the whole game and that’s not like us.

“Usually, we are a very attacking team and have umpteen chances but that certainly wasn’t the case on Saturday.”

Campbell also stressed that the league campaign is his main priority this season, admitting that cup contests can often cause a distraction for both the playing squad and management team.

“The Central League Cup probably is a distraction for us as a management team, when you see the fixtures that are coming thick and fast in the league,” he added.

“This year, the aim was certainly promotion and we are sitting in a good position at the moment but what I would say is that the teams above us already have the points, whereas our games in hand aren’t a given.

“It’s alright looking at it that, if we win all our games in hand, we will be top of the league but you need to have a strong mentality to go and get those wins now.”

Next up for Neilston is an away tie against promotion rivals Benburb tonight, with kick-off at 6.30pm.

Neilston team v Blantyre Vics: Tiropoulos, Convery, Milne, Clark, Mitchell, McDade, McKinlay, Diack, Fletcher, Stewart and Curren.