Elgin City manager Gavin Price insists his players have it within them to ensure they are playing at a higher level next season after suffering his most painful defeat.
The Black and Whites had Championship title contenders Ayr United on the ropes last weekend in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup after Kane Hester put them ahead.
The League Two visitors from Moray peppered the Ayr goal with big opportunities, but could not find a killer second goal.
The Somerset Park side got out of jail with a last-gasp equaliser from Fraser Bryden and, following a controversial a Ben Dempsey penalty in extra-time, Dipo Akinyemi added two more for a 4-1 outcome.
Ayr will face Falkirk in the quarter-finals next month and Elgin’s sole focus is winning promotion into League One via the play-offs.
⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/dIlFXQVXe5
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) February 12, 2023
Dumbarton and Stirling Albion are fighting it out for top spot, leaving 10 points between Annan, in third, and Bonnyrigg Rose at the bottom.
On Saturday, fifth-placed Elgin host a Stranraer side with one win and six defeats over their last seven matches.
A win for the Blues, however, would bring them to within just one point of City.
Staying up is immediate Elgin target
Price explained it’s a matter of safety first as his team target a fresh promotion push.
He said: “First and foremost, we have to ensure we get enough points to make sure we’re safe then build on from that to make the play-offs.
“This is a big game on Saturday in terms of league positioning and to take us back to where we want to be. We have got to be confident after last Saturday.
“Stranraer will be tough, as it always is. Nothing changes – we have to concentrate on ourselves.
“If we can ensure we’re at our best, I’m confident we can get three points.”
Taking heart from pushing Ayr
The City manager admits losing out on a last-eight spot after such a strong display at Ayr, hurt more than any other result.
He said: “That was the sorest outcome. The play-off defeat against Edinburgh (in 2021), with the late goal, comes close, but given the manner of last week’s result and the manner of the performance, we deserved to win the game in 90 minutes.
“It wasn’t be to and Lady Luck wasn’t on our side. We need to just move on from it, but we’ve got to be buoyed by the manner of our performance and the effort the players put into it and use it as a springboard from which to build for the remainder of the season.
“We want more big games like that and to do that we need to reach the play-offs.”
These boys gave us everything today & were so so unlucky in the 90th minute 💔⚽️ @ElginCityFC pic.twitter.com/JfiItwZfl2
— Isla Benzie (@IslaBenzie) February 11, 2023
Preparation gave City real chance
Price thanked his board for helping the squad have the best chance of success last week, but is urging his men to drive on up the table.
He added: “Fair play to the club, they did everything they could to help with our preparation, in terms of making the journey down better and providing the overnight stay.
“Preparation was key in terms of us trying to get a result. Unfortunately, we didn’t get what we deserved, but the players were fantastic and we’ve got to use that now in the league.
“We potentially have a big end to the season coming up, so we want to take that sort of form and determination into the league campaign.”
Elgin should be along the same lines for the weekend, with captain Matthew Cooper battling to be fit and available following a knee injury.
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