Big games coming thick and fast as Greenock prepare for Perthshire clash

Big matches are coming thick and fast for Greenock Juniors - with every game more important than the last for Gary Fleming's side.

Glasgow Perthshire are the visitors to Ravenscraig on Saturday in a second-against-third clash in the Third Division.

The Nock sit above their Possilpark opponents thanks to a superior goal difference, with both sides on 20 points, four adrift of leaders Thorn Athletic.

A win for Greenock on Saturday, and in their next league match with Finnart, would consolidate their position as genuine promotion candidates and create a little cushion against two serious rivals.

An indication of the task facing Gary Fleming’s men is that in their most recent game, the North Glasgow side took current Premier Division champions Beith all the way to a penalty shoot-out in the West of Scotland Cup before eventually losing in the narrowest way possible at Bellsdale Park.

Greenock, however, can take confidence from their last two league games against Threave Rovers and Ardeer Thistle, in which the Nock notched up a total of 11 goals.

The results were, of course, important, but what was equally pleasing was the manner of the wins.

Previous glitches in the formation were eliminated; the football was controlled, inventive and exciting to watch; and the players all put their shifts in, with intelligence and high levels of awareness.

Most encouragingly, there is a sense that there is still more to come from the group, though it almost goes without saying that Greenock will need to continue that recent form if they're to take all three points on Saturday against a team that will give very little away.

There are, however, some significant injury concerns for Greenock leading up to the game: Jay Woods will be out for several weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage in last Saturday’s friendly against Neilston, while Darren Boyle, Scott Paterson, Ryan Docherty and Connor McKenzie have not trained this week due to a combination of injury and illness.

Jamie Black will also be missing on Saturday, so a rejig will be required in midfield, though one bright note is that Ryan Corr has returned to light training and hopefully over the next few weeks he will be challenging for a place in the match day squad.

Manager Gary Fleming says he's under no illusion about the importance of this game as he looks to back up two stunning performances in the league.

“We’re really pleased with how we’ve made good use of the fortnight’s break between competitive games," he said, "with good quality training sessions and two friendly matches.

"We’ve said for the past two competitive outings against both Threave and Ardeer that they’ve been the biggest games of the season; however this one now takes precedence.

"We are playing a team who are one place below us in the table on goal difference only.

"Their win, draw and loss record is exactly the same as us, and they are coming off an outstanding performance against Beith.

"However, I would like to think Perthshire will be showing us the same respect, given our form of late.

"We’re the home side; we’re on the back of two great league wins, and I don’t see why we couldn’t earn three points if we show up and apply ourselves in the same manner we have done in the last two league games."

Greenock Juniors 100 Club winners for October: 1 No 40, 2 No 2 (Darren Boyle), 3 No 50 (Craig Brown).

Greenock are sponsored by Saveheat, Keystore Cowal View, Safer Group, The Lighthouse Bar, McGills, ARC and Blairs.