GLENAFTON were pushed all the way by an Arthurlie side fighting for survival.

They fell behind to an early penalty, but recovered then survived a late scare to win 3-2.

Manager Craig McEwan said: “First and foremost, it is three points which set us up for a big, big match at Kilbirnie on Wednesday.

“But I felt we were really slack for the first 10 or 15 minutes although it was hard to play against a team setting their stall with a 4-5-1 formation.

“Also, with the brutal weather we have been having, the playing surface wasn't conducive to the way we want to play.

“So I said to the players at half-time that Arthurlie were looking like the team that were hungrier and were winning all the battles.

“Then we started moving the ball around and looked a different side – although we had scored a fantastic goal in the first half.”

While McEwan has some sympathy for Arthurlie, his task was to send them home empty-handed.

He said: “Arthurlie, as a club, is being dragged through the mill.

“I have been manager there and I know that there are a lot of good people behind the scenes at the club, but they are struggling.

“But that is not something that we need to concern ourselves with, We just need to do our job and make sure we win games.

“We gave them too many chances which made it a frustrating day but on some occasions it is better being a lucky team than a good one.

“The win sets us up for the run-in and that's the pressure I have put on the players – to kick on now and make sure we are up there challenging Kilwinning.”

Buffs lost at Kilbirnie which makes the title race even more fascinating, but the Glens' gaffer's only thoughts are on his own team, saying: “We'll just go about our business and will be back in contention if we win all our games.”