Martin Campbell praised his Neilston side for bouncing back from two league defeats with a vital Scottish Junior Cup win away to Scone.

The Brig ‘O Lea side suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season in their last two matches before the cup break and Campbell believes a mini-break from league action was exactly what was needed to revitalise his side.

Neilston made the trip to Perthshire not knowing much about their opponents in the first ever meeting between the clubs.

That unfamiliarity didn’t faze the hosts, though, with Calum Kinnear going close seven minutes in.

The Farmer’s Boys did respond quickly with Dylan Fletcher and Alan Frizzell both testing the keeper.

Frustration was starting to show for the visitors with Scone doing well to keep it level as keeper Josh Gorton pulled off two fine saves to deny both Paul Stewart and Fletcher before the break.

Both sides remained unchanged after the restart but it was Scone who threatened early on after a scramble in the box before Aaron Carlon beat the offside trap to force a fine save from Neilston keeper Robert Tiropoulos.

The visitors were finally in the ascendency and should have opened the scoring after the hour mark when Stewart found himself through on goal but the ball took a bad bounce on the uneven surface as the striker fired over from close range.

Neilston’s pressure eventually paid off in the 70th minute with Fletcher breaking the deadlock. Lewis Lovering’s floated corned found Fletcher at the back post he made no mistake as he squeezed it home.

Scone found themselves a man down with 10 minutes after a poor challenge on Stephen Docherty but it did little to affect the scoreline or result as Neilston booked their place in the third round.

And while Campbell acknowledged his side could have done better against the lower league side, he was just relieved to get through a tricky tie and get back to winning ways.

He said: “It was a long trip up to Perth for us so it’s good to get the win for a bit of confidence again. The main thing was trying to get through the tie.

“We haven’t picked up any points in the league in the last two weeks so we needed to get a win regardless of what competition we were in.

“We could have been a wee bit better and the scoreline could have looked a bit better for us, but we didn’t know anything about Scone. To go up there and come away with the win is the main thing.”

Neilston return to league action this weekend with a trip to take on Kilsyth Rangers and Campbell believes the break from the league can only help his side.

He added: “We’re looking forward to get back into the league now. We got the win, had a team night out which lifted the spirits and now we’re raring to go.”