Little: ‘Fantastic to see such a great crowd’

Manager Ian Little praised ‘Gers fans for turning out in their numbers in awful conditions as his side defeated Edinburgh University AFC 2-0 to mark the first time a Berwick team had kept back-to-back clean sheets in league matches since May 2016.

A total of 556 fans – an attendance record for the Lowland League this season – came through the turnstiles to support the Dream Team and they were rewarded with a much-needed victory as Calum Smith and Hamish Thomson netted in the last 10 minutes to see off the students.

Speaking after the match, Little paid tribute to fans new and old for attending the Community Day – but admitted he was a little disappointed his side couldn’t replicate the strong showing in the match away at Cumbernauld Colts a week earlier.

“It was fantastic to see such a great crowd for Saturday’s game and we knew the importance of getting a result with it being a big day for the club, our fans and the community.

“Our performance wasn’t great compared with the previous week, but a good platform from the Cumbernauld game is what we asked for and importantly, we managed to get the three points that, overall, I felt we deserved.”

Striker Smith netted for the first time in a Black & Gold jersey and Little was delighted with his marksman for opening his account.

“With Lewis [Barr] and Calum [Smith] up top, we’re confident we’ll create opportunities. It was great to see Calum grabbing his first goal from what was a terrific cross from Ali [Forster] after he was put through by [Grant] Rose.

“I think the fans enjoyed the goal as they sounded excited from where we were standing – and they were also maybe a little relieved! We’ve been working hard to be more solid in defence and with back-to-back clean sheets, that’s credit to the players and following on from this win, hopefully we’ve turned a corner towards the end of the season.”

Little and his team will be looking to make it seven points from a possible nine on Saturday when they travel to Dalbeattie Star, who lie second from bottom in the Lowland League.