Peebles Rovers gaffer Ger Rossi credits character for third win on spin

Rovers followed up back-to-back wins at home to Edinburgh South by 5-2 at the end of last month and at Newburgh Juniors by 2-1 a week later by seeing off second-bottom Ormiston Primrose 3-0 at home at Whitestone Park on Saturday.

Rossi had goals from Luke MacLean on 24 minutes, Mikey Robertson on 63 and Harry McGill a minute ahead of the final whistle against their East Lothian opposition to thank for the Borderers’ fifth win of the current East of Scotland Football League second division season.

It sees them sitting tenth in the table, on 21 points from 15 games, ahead of a trip up to Fife a week on Saturday, November 26, to play St Andrews United, with kick-off at 2.30pm, their hosts currently being five league places and six points better off than them.

Rossi was full of praise for his players after their latest win, telling the club website: “We went into our match versus Ormiston full of confidence. However, the message to the lads probably wasn’t as straightforward as normal.

“We spoke to them about the fine lines of going into games with overconfidence and falling victim to complacency.

“It’s a real tough one as a management team to get right as you never want to knock the wind out of the lads’ sails. I do think it’s important to remember that when you go on a positive run, you never stray from what got you there in the first place. Our lads have been first class at that to their credit.

“The project has taken a little bit of time to build as expected but we find ourselves in a good place at the moment.

“Football, as we know, can change in a heartbeat, though, so it’s important to enjoy the good moments as much as possible without getting too carried away.

“The game itself I felt we controlled from start to finish. Ormiston came to try and frustrate by sitting in behind the ball, and in the opening stages, credit must be given to them as we found it difficult to break them down. Our goals were shared around the park which is always pleasing too.”

Rossi singled out stand-in goalkeeper Grant Doyle for praise, adding: “Grant shows the character we have in the changing room right now. Stepping up before the game kicked off, he sacrificed his starting place in midfield to don the goalie’s gloves at our time of need, and he even had the cheek to produce a smart double save that any number one would’ve been proud of.

“That’s where we find ourselves at the moment – everyone chipping in and doing their bit – and there’s certainly no greater feeling than when it all comes together.”