Dalbeattie Star will be working hard to tackle the “wee wobbles” they are suffering at the end of games.
The South of Scotland League champs beat Newton Stewart 4-3 on Saturday – having been 4-1 up with less than 10 minutes left.
And that came after a similar fright in their last game, when they were 3-0 up at Lochar Thistle only to concede twice late on.
Boss Eddie Warwick said: “We know internally where the wee wobbles are coming from and how they’re happening so it’s up to us to try to fix it.
“You’re playing well in games then you’re finding yourself under a wee bit of pressure at the end. It’s disappointing because it sours the performance and achievement. We fully deserved to be 4-1 up and nobody could argue that.
“It’s a very difficult place to go, Newton are a very good team and we’re just delighted we’ve taken the three points on the road which keeps our 100 per cent away record.
“It’s just game management. There’s not much we can do from the side, you’ve got to trust your players. You don’t want to start putting players on and getting deeper, I’m a great believer in defending from the front.”
Star led at the break thanks to Cammy Bryson’s goal, with Ross Hunter doubling the lead just before the hour mark.
A screamer from Connor Potts looked to have sealed Star’s win, only for Jake Ellis to get one back.
Kyle Higgins restored the advantage but goals from Aaron Drysdale and Jack Marshall ensured it was another nervy finish.
Warwuick said: “We drew with them at the start of the season and now we’ve beaten them three times. I think last season we beat them in all our games so it’s a really good record against a really strong team.
“They are arguably one of the best teams in the league on their day, particularly at home. There’s big games coming and we’re right in the position we want to be, we’re doing well, we’re taking it one game at a time and hopefully we’re on the right path.”
The focus for Star shifts from the league tomorrow night when they face Lochar Thistle in the South of Scotland League Cup final at Palmerston.
And while keen to secure some silverware, Warwick admitted he’d rather be playing a league game as he looks to retain the title.
He said: “Cup finals are great for the club, the players and the fans, but for me personally the league’s your bread and butter and always will be. There’s five teams roundabout us playing league games on Saturday, so they can potentially put points on the board.
“Palmerston under the lights is a special game, I totally understand that, and we’ll give everything we can to win the cup but my preference I’d rather be playing a league game to keep the points on the board.
“It’ll be a very tough game, Lochar are a cup specialist team – that’s not saying they’re not a league specialist as they’re up there fighting for the title, but they know what it takes to win cup finals.
2There’s lots of things we can improve on, we’ve won games and been quite convincing, but we’ve also had a wobble. We’re working hard to rectify that, we need to get back on the training pitch and work extremely hard to improve the areas we’re not happy with.”