Paisley Pirates have to pull themselves back off the ropes this weekend after two disappointing results which saw them drop valuable league points on the road at Kirkcaldy, before going out of the Autumn Cup at the semifinal stage at Edinburgh last weekend.

Bouncing back

Yes, it’s been a tough couple of weeks for us,” admitted coach Ian Turley. “We’ve had to go to probably the toughest two venues in the Scottish National League over the past fortnight, and we now go back to Kirkcaldy, this time in the Scottish Cup quarter final, this coming Sunday, for a tie where I think the neutrals at least would be backing another home win.”

I thought the scoreline flattered Edinburgh at the weekend, as we were caught cold in the first period and were playing catch up for the rest of the game, but matches like that are sometimes good for finding out what players are up for the challenge. Young Haydn Bain, for example, hadn’t seen much in the way of ice time recently, but we threw him in at the deep end on Sunday and he responded with a Man of the Match performance and capped it with a goal which gave us momentum at the time. What he showed me on Sunday was that like other young players in the squad he can come in and do the jersey justice when called upon. He’s still learning, but he said he wanted to come to the Pirates to do just that, and it’s good to see him following through in that respect.”

I’ve got to admit, if I was a Kirkcaldy player I’d be thinking that on paper the Kestrels were favourites to be in the draw for the semis, but to use the old cliché games are decided on the ice, and I’ve every confidence in our team’s ability to pull off what might be regarded as a shock in some places. We’ve had a difficult few weeks for sure, on and off the ice, but that’s what produces character and I’m looking for the Pirates to go to Fife and show our fans what we’ve got. I believe the last time the club won the Scottish Cup we won a very tight quarter final at Kirkcaldy before the team went on to lift the trophy, so who’s to say history can’t repeat itself this time around?”