A CALL for consistency has been made after Ormiston FC came within a whisker of fighting back to secure a point against Whitehill Welfare.
Ormi sit bottom of East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) First Division Conference A and were three goals down to their Midlothian rivals in the League Cup on Saturday.
Zac Scally and Sean Ballard narrowed the deficit in the final 20 minutes and only the crossbar denied Richie Weir’s men an impressive comeback.
The manager said: “Previously, sometimes we would have gone 3-0 down and we would have needed to change formation and shut up shop and try not to concede any more.
“The players dug in and gave Whitehill Welfare a bit of a shock.
“The two dugouts are quite close together and their dugout was not best pleased at the end of the game.
“It is the consistency we have got to try to install in them to do it every week.
“We want this performance every week.
“It is hard work to even have a consistent team on the park.
“We had two or three missing on Saturday and did not even have a full squad.
“It was pleasing but we could not quite get it over the line to get a point.”
Ormiston had trailed 2-0 at the interval before their Premier Division opposition extended their advantage just eight minutes after the break.
However, Weir’s men fought back and they were denied a point when Scally’s spot kick came back off the crossbar at Ferguson Park and the referee immediately blew for full time.
The manager refused to put any blame on Scally and praised him for having the confidence to step up and take the penalty in the absence of regular spot-kick taker Chris Hogg.
The two sides are part of Group H alongside Dunbar United, Stoneyburn and Kennoway Star Hearts, who Ormiston face on Saturday.
The group has teams from three different divisions – the Premier Division, First Division Conference A and First Division Conference X – and provides a break from the league fixtures.
Weir said: “I quite like the League Cup.
“It is normally at the start of the season and gives you a chance to get the season started but it gives you a chance to play Whitehill and Dunbar, who are in the Premier Division.
“They are going to be hard games and we have got Stoneyburn, who we have never played since we moved from the Juniors.
“It is a chance to pit your wits against other teams.
“We have got Kennoway in the next game and have had them in our conference for the last couple of seasons.
“We know a bit about them but we have never played them over there, so it is a new venue for us.
“We have had them in the league but never had them away from home.”
It may only be the middle of March but Weir and his management team are already looking to the 2022/23 campaign.
Relegation to the newly created Second Division looks inevitable but Weir is busy drawing up his squad for next season.
He said: “We have started that in the last few weeks.
“I have been making up lists of players to bring in and improve the squad and what ones maybe need to make a move even for themselves as they are guys that are not playing.
“I have started looking at and spoken to a few players as well.
“There are a few amateurs who are looking to make the step up and we have had a few positive conversations already.”
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