Gordonians captain Chris McIlroy hopes lessons are learned from his side’s sluggish start last weekend when they welcome Strathmore to Countesswells tomorrow.
The National 3 league leaders continues their winning start to the season with a 40-14 win against Whitecraigs, but McIlroy insists there is room for improvement.
He said: “We came out the blocks really quickly to score in the first minute, but I think we tailed off after that.
“We were sluggish. Whitecraigs dropped down from National 2 with us last season and we knew we were in for a tough time, but we struggled at times.
“Allan Glen’s the previous weekend was tough as it was our first game in five weeks, but we didn’t kick on as we wanted to.
“We won the game and got the bonus point, which is what the aim was – but we know we can be better.
“Our fitness is not where it was before the break, so we’ve been working on improving that.”
McIlroy to miss Strathmore game
A strained hip adductor will keep the GoGos captain out of his side’s home game against Strathmore, but McIlroy is confident his side can make the most of home advantage.
He said: “We’ve played Strathmore regularly over the years and I can’t remember any game where we’ve ran away from them.
“The games always tend to be pretty scrappy, but thankfully we’re at home and we should be able to use Countesswells to our advantage.
“We’re expected to win the game as league leaders and having home advantage, but we can’t take anything for granted.
“They are a big physical side and we’ll need to defend well as they’ll ask questions of us.”
McIlroy hopes to be fit to return for next week’s trip to Perthshire, but is confident his side can cope in his absence if his spell on the sidelines lasts longer than one game.
He said: “I’m still able to run straight, but it’s when I try to make twists and turns from side to side that I feel it so there’s no point taking any risk.
“We’ve got Perthshire away next week, which I hope to be back for, but if I’m not I’m confident the guys can go there and pick up the points without me.”
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