First Team
'Let's kick on' - Waddell on East Stirlingshire tie
4th December 2020
It's a Friday night under the lights for Caledonian Braves this week, with a trip to the Falkirk Stadium to face East Stirlingshire. The Braves are in a positive mood going into the game according to manager Ricky Waddell after last week's well-earned and hard-fought win over Cumbernauld Colts.
The Braves won 1-0 at Broadwood thanks to an Andy Dowie goal. A red card early on for Colts captain Stephen O'Neill didn't necessarily make things easier but the away side dominated the match and secured a crucial clean sheet in the process, their first of the season.
East Stirlingshire are enjoying a good season themselves, sitting fifth in the table on 22 points, 13 points above the Braves in 14th. But Waddell is confident going forward.
He said: "That's the word: confidence. We needed that. I spent a bit of time chatting to everybody this time last week, not to put the fear in anybody but just saying to them how big the upcoming game against Cumbernauld Colts was and the fact we had to perform because I felt like we hadn't been performing. And we did that, so we've built confidence but also built up a bit of momentum.
"I feel we're starting to get that momentum back, I felt like it was coming over the last ten days. We were starting to get squad members back to full fitness and I feel like we're there now. Now, we've got to kick on.
"The clean sheet is another positive. It builds momentum and confidence. We've been leaking goals but it shows we are capable of keeping a clean sheet against a decent side. It breeds that ruthlessness, giving you something to hold onto."
Tonight also marks the first Friday night game of the Lowland League season for the Braves, who have only played midweek or on Saturday afternoons thus far. Not much changes for the coaches or players other than the build up to the match, said the gaffer.
"Preparation is different," he said. "It's a shorter preparation. Fortunately we never had a game on Tuesday night so we had more recovery from Saturday. But we're looking forward to it."