Winter change swung it for Irvine Meadow

Jun 26 2009 by John Woods, Irvine Herald

IRVINE Meadow stopper Chris McGowan celebrated this side’s FOURTH trophy win of the season – then revealed how a change of formation led to a change in fortune for the club.

Meadow added the Evening Times Cup to their trophy haul on Thursday after Chris Robertson’s 29th-minute goal gave them a 1-0 win over Pollok.

But McGowan believes the catalyst for success came in the winter when boss Chris Strain tinkered with his line-up.

He said: “We turned the corner from the minute the gaffer opted to go for three at the back and stick by practically the same players week in and week out," he said.

"An understanding has evolved which has stood the team in good stead, and we feel capable of keeping a clean sheet most weeks.

"And that's crucial, given the players we have going forward are always going to score goals."

Delighted gaffer Strain said his side’s success made the hard slog of winter training worthwhile.

"We have played better this season than we did against Pollock, but our battling spirit and will-to-win qualities got us through in the end and I felt we won the game on merit.

"Granted, Pollok had a lot of the ball, but it was in areas where they were never going to hurt us.

"We created little in the way of clear-cut chances ourselves, if truth be told. But, when you're only 1-0 up, it's a natural tendency to sit back and try to hold on to the lead.”