Steven Saunders secured his first victory as Albion Rovers manager as his side stunned in-form North Lanarkshire rivals Caledonian Braves 2-0 in the Lowland League West.
The former defender admitted the clean sheet was the most pleasing aspect of the day, as Rovers backed up last week's 2-2 draw with Johnstone Burgh to claim their first three points of the season.
Second-half strikes seal derby win
Chris Neeson broke the deadlock when his cross bounced over the line, and two minutes from time Barry Duncan sealed the win with a thumping volley to end the Braves' 100 per cent start.
Saunders told the club media: "I was really pleased and more so with the workrate. I think that workrate matched the 45 minutes against Johnstone Burgh [in the second half]."
Gaffer praises workrate and keeper
"If we are going to play well and win games in this league, you need to work hard first because you are not going to get the respect from teams around you to let you play nice football, you will need to work for it."
Goalkeeper Grant Tamosevicius earned special praise for his contribution, with Saunders adding: "We knew what they were going to do, we did a lot of work on them, and at times Grant had to pull us out of hole with some great saves, which kept the game at 1-0, and that helps with the clean sheets."
The win moves Rovers up to 10th in the table after four games.
Quick turnaround ahead
Rovers face a quick turnaround with a Tuesday night trip to Ayrshire to face fifth-place Kilwinning Rangers, followed by the visit of fourth-place Auchinleck Talbot on Saturday.
Saunders said: "It's the first three points so it is good for the boys to know that what we are asking them to do does work. Now we need them to continue that into Tuesday and next Saturday. We could have taken our chances a bit better in the final third, but it is our first win and now we've got four points on the board."
