Burntisland Shipyard 1 Rosyth 4, East of Scotland League, First Division
ROSYTH boss Greig Denham believes that the campaign is ending too soon for his side after they chalked up victory to guarantee a top-half finish.
Saturday's success at Burntisland Shipyard – which also relegated the hosts – was their fourth win in their last five East of Scotland League, First Division outings, and their third on the spin.
Their final home game of the season, and last at the Fleet Grounds before the club are scheduled to move to a new base at Pitreavie, saw them defeat Kennoway Star Hearts after a 4-1 Fife derby win at Glenrothes – and they repeated the latter trick at Recreation Park.
The contest was just 14 minutes old when a mix-up between Scott Costello, in the Shipyard goal, and Iain Miller saw the ball come off the latter and find its way into the net to give Rosyth the lead, which they soon doubled through Darren Ormiston.
Rosyth, with what Denham described as "as good a goal as you'll see at this level", then made it three when, after a superb passing move, Callum Strang found the net before the half-time break.
Ryan McDonald scored the visitors' fourth goal and, although Robbie MacAulay pulled one back for Burntisland, the three points headed back to Rosyth, who finished seventh in the 16-team table.
When Denham took over five league games into the campaign, Rosyth had failed to register a point, but have now ended the campaign with 43, racking up 13 wins and four draws from their 30 matches played.
"The season is finishing too early for us to be honest," Denham commented.
"The boys have been on a terrific run of form, and Saturday was another reflection of how far the squad have came. We were among the goals and ruthless, which was very good to see.
"It was very pleased, especially the first half, where we were very comfortable. The easiest thing would have been to go along, make a few changes and go through the motions, but we wanted to finish the season strongly. The boys' application and effort deserved a top half finish and, to finish seventh, from where we started, the boys deserve a lot of credit."
Looking ahead to next season, Denham continued: "Recruitment is key. We've kept the majority of the squad in place, although Graeme Nutt is retiring, so that is a void that we'll need to fill at right back. A few top quality additions to what we've got, and we won't be far away.
"We're fortunate that we've got good contacts with senior clubs in the area, so we'll see what happens."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here