Neilston co-manager Martin Campbell hailed his side’s character after they bounced back from a poor opening-day defeat against Johnstone Burgh in the Sectional League Cup with a hard-fought win over Benburb on Monday. 

The Farmer’s Boys got their cup campaign off to a poor start with the loss to Burgh at Keanie Park.

But they did well to bounce back on Monday night with a tight win against fellow West Championship side Benburb. 

And Campbell insists it was good to see his side show strong resolve after letting themselves down on Saturday.

He said: “We let ourselves down pretty badly on Saturday, if I’m being honest. We played the first 35 minutes in Burgh’s half without creating a proper chance and then missed a penalty. 

“They got a wee lift from that and scored just before half-time which then gave them a lot of confidence going into the second half. 

“I don’t think we were at the races. The second half was more even but, over the piece, Burgh deserved to win. 

“We showed a bit of character bouncing back on Monday with the win against Benburb though. That’s what we asked from them. 

“We told them they let themselves down on Saturday and they owed it to themselves to go and put a good performance on. 

“They scored after slack play with a back-post header which is sloppy from us but we deserved to edge it, based on our second half performance.” 

Neilston now face local rivals Arthurlie tonight with both sides sitting on three points in Group Eight but Campbell confessed that, although a win for the fans and progression to the knock-out stage would be a bonus, he is far more concerned with the club’s return to league action on Saturday against Girvan.

“Arthurlie tonight is the one the fans always like and we take to the field to win every game. Of course we’d be happy to get through and keep that winning habit going,” said Campbell.

“But, I won’t lie to you, it’s not the end of the world if we don’t go through. The most important thing is the league campaign starting on Saturday and I can’t wait to get back to that.”