Arthurlie boss Craig Palmer insists he had every belief his team could stun giant-killers Darvel on Saturday.
The Barrhead outfit battled back from two goals down to secure a 3-2 victory at Dunterlie Park, just days after their Ayrshire opponents knocked Aberdeen out of the Scottish Cup.
Craig Truesdale fired the visitors ahead and Allan Mackenzie added a second as Darvel took a comfortable lead into the break.
But three goals in the space of nine second-half minutes turned the contest around, with Dale Simeon scoring a brace either side of Ryan McGregor’s header.
Palmer told Barrhead Sport: “Darvel are a really good side and played well in the first half on Saturday but so did we.
“We just lacked a wee bit in the final third and conceded two really poor goals.
“I didn’t say anything to the boys at half-time, they were just talking between themselves and understood they were well in the game.
“I knew that, if we got the next goal, Darvel wouldn’t like it and we would have the momentum.
“They could have made it 3-0 but our goalkeeper makes a great save and 30 seconds later Dale Simeon scores a worldie to make it 2-1 and from there we were well on top.
“What Darvel did against Aberdeen was excellent and they were fully deserving of that win but I used some of their manager’s speech from before that game for our boys – not in a bad way, just more of an example.
“When he spoke about being a team and being brothers, he was right. If you look at any successful team, they are a close-knit bunch. Nobody expected us to win that game, apart from us.”
It’s one end of the league to the other for Arthurlie as, after facing top-of-the-table opponents at the weekend, they travel to Somervell Park this Saturday to take on Cambuslang Rangers, who prop up the division.
Camby won 3-0 at Dunterlie Park earlier this season and Palmer has urged his troops to continue their momentum in what is shaping up to be a big month for the club.
He added: “February will determine if we are going to be fighting relegation or if we’re looking to finish as high up the league as we can.”
“We need to put Saturday aside now. To beat Darvel and then go and lose to Cambuslang would mean nothing. Cambuslang is the bigger game for us.”
Kick-off on Saturday is at 1.30pm.
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