Kelty Hearts next but Civil Service Strollers believe they need not fear big task

Civil Service Strollers captain Mark McConnell says the visit of Lowland League leaders Kelty Hearts tomorrow will be the acid test for the Capital outfit.

Fifth-placed Strollers host Barry Ferguson’s star-studded side at Christie Gillies Park, the visitors, who have a six-point lead over nearest challengers Bonnyrigg Rose, have lost just once so far this season. However, Gary Jardine’s players are also enjoying a fine campaign with 11 victories from their 18 matches played and are in the mix for a top-three finish.

And although skipper McConnell, who has been deployed as a central defender in recent weeks, admits it will be a big task to put one over the Fife club this weekend, he insists they have the quality to hurt their opponents.

“Kelty are an excellent side and are top of the league so we are under no illusions as to how tough tomorrow is going to be,” the former Edinburgh City player said. “They can offer huge financial incentives so that’s why they have managed to assemble the squad they have. But we have nothing to fear. We’ve had a lot of hard matches recently that has prepared us well. It’s what this league is all about. We are having a good season ourselves so we just try to get better every game we play in. We know we’re capable of beating anyone in this league on our day.

“We’re fifth at the moment but we want to better that. We don’t want to just settle on that position given how hard we’ve worked this season. We want to finish as high as we can.

“I’ve had to play centre-half these past few weeks due to the injuries we have at the moment but I am enjoying it. I prefer playing midfield but I’m there to help out the team. I’m enjoying my football. We’ve got a good group at the club that have been getting some good results so hopefully that can continue in the weeks and months ahead.”