Tommy Montgomery insists Yoker’s 3-1 win at the weekend was the only thing that mattered after watching his side get their Sectional League Cup campaign off to a perfect start against Vale of Clyde on Saturday before slipping to a 4-1 defeat to local rivals Clydebank on Monday night.

The Whe Ho were in fine form on Saturday afternoon with an effort from new recruit Ryan McLaren and a double from Jamie Waddell securing a well-deserved win over a Clyde side they will line up against in the West Region League Two in a matter of weeks.

There was to be no repeat of the 8-1 friendly thrashing Bankies handed out last month with Montgomery and Peter McKenna’s men looking much-improved, but Clydebank did eventually run out winners over 10-man Yoker despite Gregor Cree’s second-half equaliser.

And while Montgomery was pleased to see his side put up more of a fight against the Premiership side, he admitted that Saturday’s win over the Tin Pail was key.

“We competed well for long periods of the game against Clydebank who are a very good side,” he told Post Sport. “Losing a goal in the dying seconds to make it 4-1 is disappointing but anyone who watched the friendly a couple of weeks ago will see we are moving in the right direction.

“Saturday was the real measure for us, though, as they are favourites in our league. We played really well in that one and it could have actually been even more than 3-1, which was encouraging.

“Everything is about preparation for the season beginning on Saturday. That is what really matters to us so we’ll change up the team tonight for the Vale of Leven match and make sure we’re ready for the big one on Saturday.”

The Holm Park outfit take on Ayrshire side Lugar Boswell Thistle on Saturday in their League Two opener as they aim to bounce right back up to League One following last season’s relegation.

Montgomery added: “At this moment in time we are happy with how we’re progressing and how things are going.

“We competed well against a very good side in Clydebank who are three divisions above us so we will take something from that going into the weekend. 

“We will also have some boys back from holiday, too, so we’re gearing up really well for the real stuff to begin on Saturday. We can’t wait for it now.

“We are going into the Lugar match confident, but we drew 4-4 down there at the end of last season so we know it’s a tough place to go. 

“We won’t be taking anything for granted at all but we’ll be heading down there ready to give a good account of ourselves. 

“We’ve put in all the hard work over a long pre-season, it’s just a case of putting all the work from training and the summer into practice now, beginning on Saturday.”

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