Berwick Rangers boss Kevin Haynes praises team after win over Cowdenbeath

The Borderers’ gaffer told BRTV that he was immensely proud of them and the way they had defended their box after a first half double from Greg Binnie, who was on target in the second and 16th minutes, secured back-to-back Lowland League wins – despite Harry Wright being sent off 10 minutes into the second period at Central Park.

“It wasn’t a straightforward 2-0 win – we had to do a lot of defending,” said Haynes.

“The adversities we’ve come through this week in terms of illnesses, in terms of injuries – we’ve had three guys drop out prior to the game today. Kyle Somers was ill and he’s not here, Jamie Pyper failed a fitness test and then Ben McCrystal gets injured during the warm-up, so we’ve faced massive adversity,” he continued.

“Megan (Dixon, club physio) has been really, really busy this week and she’s worth her weight in gold, and I’m just so proud of them today.”

Binnie headed in a Mike Mbewe cross for the opener then raced onto a long ball to round the keeper and slot in the second, but most of the action was down at the other end.

“Calum Antell has made four good saves and he’s shown just how valuable he is to the team and to this club. He’s come in for two games and we’ve picked up two wins and that’s really unfortunate on Liam Campbell because he’s been excellent this season.

“Calum is an important member of the squad not just for what he does on the park, but for what he does off it too,” continued Haynes.

Rangers travel to Linlithgow Rose on Saturday following a mid-week trip to Civil Service Strollers, but will be boosted by the fact that five of their last six fixtures are at Shielfield Park.

“We’ve just got to play with the hand that we’re dealt,” said the manager.

“We finished the game with Mike Mbewe at left back today, who I thought was outstanding – he did a proper shift for his team-mates. I’m full of pride after that result.”