East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy says his players need to understand that teams will target them for a scalp this season after 10-man Kilby were beaten at home by league leaders Caledonian Braves.
The defending champions suffered their second loss in the league so far this season as Braves struck twice in the second half, after Lewis Spence had been given his marching orders for the hosts.
Greig Stewart opened the scoring in 71 minutes before Cameron Breadner made sure of the points nine minutes from time to keep Braves unbeaten at the top of the table, four points clear of fourth-place Kilby who have a game in hand.
Kennedy says Caley’s celebrations at the final whistle showed how much it meant to beat his side and warned his players they are a target for teams this season, so must be on top of their game.
He said: “You could see the way the Caley Braves players were celebrating at the end, there’s an extra bit of meaning to a game in beating East Kilbride and that is something we need to deal with and react to.
“We’ll deal with that as a group going forward.
“We controlled and dominated most of the game, even with 10 men.
“I don’t think Caley created a lot of chances when we had 11 men on the pitch but then we lost the man 10 minutes into the second half and we lost a bit of momentum after that, as you would expect.
“I’m disappointed but I don’t get overly excited or too low at this time of year.
“We’ll judge the season when we are halfway through and see where we are in terms of competing, but we don’t like losing games of football.
“It is difficult to stop that when you go down to 10 men so early in the second half. I don’t think we were ever in danger of losing the game with 11 men on the pitch. We had large spells of possession.
“Caley are very direct and very well-drilled, as you would expect because they are in training every day.
“They have started the season well but I’m not overly concerned about it.
“We trust ourselves to move on and respond in the next game.
“We changed our shape to a 3-4-2 but Caley had a really solid 4-4-2 and they don’t break their structure. They just work and work and they are difficult to break down.”
Kennedy – who was booked for dissent earlier in the game – wasn’t happy with the decision to send off Spence for a late challenge after 58 minutes.
He added: “It is never a red card in a million years. It happened a yard away from me on the touchline.
“It is definitely a booking, it’s a late tackle, but it is not high or anything.
“There was a big melee after it and then the referee got drawn into all that.
“My booking was for complaining about a decision. It is what it is.”
EK now focus on a double-header with Gretna 2008, playing them on Saturday in the Scottish Cup and next Wednesday night in the league.
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