The Farmer’s Boys continued their impressive step up to the WoSFL First Division with a convincing win over title hopefuls Benburb.
Neilston expected a tough afternoon against an experienced side who were playing in the top tier last season.
But after weathering an early storm, the Renfrewshire club took control at the Brig O’Lea Stadium with Euan Clark knocking home the opener from close range after Darren Jones’ free-kick rattled the bar.
The visitors’ lost a midfielder before the break for a red card, with Neilston going on to eventually make sure of the result when Jones netted with 20 minutes to go.
Farmer’s Boys co-boss Chris Cameron feels his players can take a lot of confidence from the dominant victory.
He told Express Sport: “It’s been a really solid start for us, picking up four points from six against two very good sides.
“Our overall performance was excellent. To be fair to Benburb, they threw the kitchen sink at us in the first ten minutes.
“They hit the bar early on and Grant Hay had to make an excellent save from the rebound to keep us level.
“After that we slowed the tempo right down and got a foothold on the game.
“Our experienced players really stood up to the test and we thoroughly deserved the win in the end.
“We’re making a lot of chances at the moment. If we can get a bit more clinical we’ll be cooking with gas.
“Benburb are a big, physical side who play very direct and that will work against a lot of teams in this league.
“I’m delighted with how our boys stood up to that challenge and it’s a massive confidence boost for us.
“To have played two of the title favourites already and come away with four points is very pleasing.”
Next up for Neilston is another home clash, this time against Rossvale who have endured a stuttering start to the season.
Cameron won’t be taking the challenge they pose for granted, though, adding: “Rossvale have lost their first two games, including a bit of a 5-1 doing in their last game.
“They’ll likely be a wounded animal, so we’ll need to be very wary of them.
"They’ll be desperate to put things right. We’ll focus on ourselves and hopefully we can keep this positive momentum going.”
