Neilston co-manager Chris Cameron couldn’t hide his delight after his side saw off local rivals Arthurlie to claim East Renfrewshire bragging rights at the weekend with a dramatic last-gasp winner.
Making the short trip along to Dunterlie Park, the Farmer’s Boys arrived on the back of an excellent unbeaten run stretching all the way back to August while their toiling neighbours have lost their last four league outings.
Form goes out of the window on derby day, however, and it was a scrappy affair in difficult conditions.
The hosts settled the quicker of the sides as they looked to bring their poor run of form to a halt but Lee Mitchell in the Neilston goal was rarely tested as Lie couldn’t quite make it click in the final third.
Duncan Sinclair’s men came close to breaking the deadlock midway through the first-half when Tam McGaughey’s free-kick came rattling back off the bar.
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But that was Arthurlie’s first and only real chance of the afternoon as Neilston began to find their feet.
First, Stephen Stirling came close to opening the scoring before Martin Curren looked to have grabbed the opener on the stroke of half-time only for Lie keeper Craig Gordon to turn his effort behind.
Lie made a double change 10 minutes into the second-half as they looked to put a bit of pressure on the visitors but the Neilston defence more than coped with everything thrown at them.
Up the other end, both Dylan Fletcher and Stirling went close as Cammy Haddow came on for Daryl Convery.
Just as it looked like both sides were happy to settle for a share of the spoils, Fletcher turned his marker to force Gordon into a fine stop from the edge of the area but the keeper could only parry it back into the danger area and up popped sub Haddow who rifled it into the roof of the net to send the Farmer’s Boys bench and the travelling support wild.
“We’re all over the moon with that at the weekend,” Cameron told Barrhead Sport. “We really didn’t play our best and it wasn’t a great game for any neutrals watching on but we’re delighted with the three points and the manner in which we got them right at the death was a buzz for everyone.
“Getting those three points on the board and getting bragging rights with a local derby win was all that mattered.
“Everything is rosy right now - we’re unbeaten since August and that win sealed our first back-to-back wins of the season.
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“We now go into the Scottish Junior Cup with a good bit of momentum.”
Neilston put their league exploits on hold this weekend as they turn their attention to the Scottish Junior Cup with a tricky tie away to Brechin Victoria.
Cameron added: “We’ve not been able to get them watched but it’s a tie that we should be progressing from to be honest.
“The cup coming right when we’re doing well in the league isn’t great timing. Ideally, we want to be picking up points and kicking on.
“But it is the biggest tournament at this level so a good cup run would be fantastic for the club and the fans.”
Neilston's bus for their Scottish Junior Cup tie away to Brechin Vics will leave Brig O'Lea at 10.30am on Saturday.
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