Civil Service Strollers eager to put things right against Bonnyrigg Rose after 'freak' loss to Gala Fairydean Rovers

Civil Service Strollers boss Gary Jardine believes last weekend’s 4-0 defeat by Gala Fairydean Rovers was something of a freak result.

The Christie Gilles Park outfit were subjected to a second-half blitz at Netherdale as the hosts netted all four goals in a devastating 15-minute spell.

Given Strollers were 14 points better off than their opponents prior to their trip to the Borders, Jardine admits it wasn’t the outcome he envisaged.

Ahead of tomorrow’s visit to title-chasing Bonnyrigg Rose, the former Edinburgh City boss said: “Last weekend was really disappointing and something I don’t think anyone saw coming, especially at half-time.

“The performance is irrelevant, however, when you get beat by four goals. We need to get back to playing how we were at the turn of the year when we were keeping clean sheets, which gave us a platform to go on and win games.

“We’ve had to deal with a lot of injuries this season so to still be sitting in sixth place at this moment in time is an incredible achievement.”

Victory in Midlothian a big ask

Jardine accepts his players face an almighty task if they are to return to winning ways at New Dundas Park.

Rose lost for only the second time this season six days ago when they were edged out 3-2 in a pulsating encounter by league leaders Kelty Hearts.

However, he believes his players are a match for anyone on their day.

“Having also lost last week, I’m sure Bonnyrigg will be desperate to get back to winning ways and stay in the title race,” Jardine explained. “Both them and Kelty have proved to be a class apart this year.

“That said, we’ve shown on our day if we can get it right we can be a match for anyone at this level and I’m sure our players will be just as desperate as theirs to turn things around.

“We will go there with confidence that we can come away with a positive result if we show the form we know we can produce.”