PROUD Kello Rovers boss Scott Clelland paid tribute to his players after their dream run in the Macron Scottish Junior Cup finally came to an end.

The team went down 4-1 to one of the trophy favourites, Beith Juniors in the quarter-final on Saturday.

Now the gaffer is focusing on the fight to preserve their League One place.

He said: “For 25 minutes of the first half we were passengers and were not tracking runners. The last 15 minutes of the first half w were better and we started the better team in the second half. We scored and they went down to 10 men but it worked against us as they went straight up the park and scored. Their class showed a bit near the end of the game.

“The best team won on the day. The Scottish Cup run has been brilliant for the club, we had two buses and four minibuses, hopefully some of them will be back for the next game. We now need to find consistency and hopefully we can consolidate our place in League One.”

Meanwhile Auchinleck Talbot boss Tommy Sloan has hit out at his team’s schedule as they face an important spell of games.

They play a Champions Cup semi-final at Rutherglen Glencairn tonight (Wednesday) and on Saturday host Hurlford United in a Scottish Junior Cup quarter-final.

Sloan said: “It’s certainly not ideal preparation for a Scottish Cup quarter-final playing on Wednesday night. I will have to rest some players. The Scottish Cup is the priority. It will be very tough against Hurlford but hopefully we can get through.”