Berwick win at Gretna but boss Stuart Malcolm left unimpressed by performance

Berwick Rangers secured all three points but were made to work hard for it as they toiled in the sunshine to a 1-0 win at lowly Gretna 2008.

Liam Buchanan came up with the decisive moment in the first half when Bayley Klimionek's fierce shot was spilled by the goalkeeper, and he reacted sharpest to finish.

Despite the scoreline it was a game with plenty of action - including three disallowed goals, a missed penalty by Berwick and some great saves by both keepers.

Boss Stuart Malcolm, in a club video, said: “It’s three points, it’s what we came here for. The first half performance was alright but the second half was pedestrian.

"I thought the goal settled us,” he added. “We moved the ball and we had a couple of good opportunities and some of the offside decisions looked really tight. In my opinion one or two of them were onside, albeit we were at a poor angle to see it.

"So, we got the job done but they had a penalty claim right at the end which could easily have gone against us. It’s far from the performance that we were looking for.”

Malcolm shuffled his starting line-up following the midweek draw with Hearts B, bringing in Klimionek and Callum Mackay at the back.

“They deserved their opportunity,” he explained. “We’ve gone all season with bodies that we expect to be at a much higher level than they’ve been at.

"If I hadn’t given them their opportunity then they lose heart. They would have been wondering ‘how do I get into this team’ after such a poor run of second half performances.

"Again today there’s been no-one in that performance who has been a total standout.

"We knew it was going to be tough. They’ve got some good players and, let’s be honest, it was a great strike from Bayley and an opportunistic finish from Buchs that wins us the game.

There was praise for Berwick keeper Callum Antell, with Malcolm adding: “There were a couple of very good saves, although they’re ones I’d expect him to make. He’s done his job very, very well.”

The win leaves Berwick eighth in the table.

On Saturday they make the trip to Edinburgh University for a South Region Challenge Cup tie.