Ian Clark, the manager of St Cuthbert Wanderers, has urged his players to enhance their fitness levels to compete effectively throughout the full 90 minutes of a game.
During their recent Scottish Cup match against Dalkeith Thistle, Saints were trailing by just one goal until the Midlothian side launched a late goal spree, securing a 5-0 victory.
Clark expressed his thoughts, saying, “The boys battled well for 60 or 65 minutes, and then it comes down to fitness. You look at the last couple of results, and at half-time, we’re in games, then we fall out of it. That’s something we need to address, and it’s something we highlighted after the game. It’s something the lads need to be looking at as well as me and the coaching team.”
He continued, “For the first 60 minutes, I was extremely proud of how they played and battled. We had chances where, if we’d taken them and been more clinical, we’d have been 2-1 up rather than 1-0 down. The message was to keep that level up, but the reality is after 15 or 20 minutes of the second half, the legs seemed to go, which is something we need to address. I’m disappointed for the fans and the club, but I think they can be encouraged by the first 50 or 60 minutes.”
Dalkeith Thistle took the lead with an early goal from Michael Gould, but Saints managed to hold out until less than 20 minutes from the end when Kyle Brockie’s quick brace secured the game for the visitors. Additional goals from Dylan Greig and Matty Brown added to Dalkeith’s lead.
Clark commented on the scoreline, saying, “It’s not a 5-0 game, but the history books will have it down as that. Nobody is going to look and say it was only 1-0 at half-time. We need to take a look at ourselves as individuals and ask if we’re doing enough personally to be influencing games after 60 minutes.”
He emphasized the need for players to take responsibility for their fitness and performance, adding, “When I analyzed it with the last couple of results, there were four results where at half-time, we were in a game and then conceded goals in the second half. It’s something as a coaching staff we’ve addressed, but the responsibility sits with the players. We can only put that information to them.”
St Cuthbert Wanderers will face Stranraer reserves in another home cup game this weekend, as they look to bounce back from their recent defeat.