FRASER DUNCAN was relieved after his Sauchie players gained a potentially vital three points in their battle to climb the Super League table.

Conor Kelly’s penalty was enough to separate the sides in a tense encounter at Beechwood Park.

And the manager was delighted that his side managed to fulfil their aim of winning the game while keeping a clean sheet.

Duncan told Advertiser Sport: “We needed to get the three points on Saturday but we had to really push to get them. We did deserve the win and I said that to the boys. The main objectives were getting the clean sheet and picking up three points, and we have managed to do that.

“Carnoustie always give us a tough game but we had chances to make it more comfortable. It probably should have been more than 1-0. Their keeper has made a couple of great saves. We deserved more goals but the most important thing was getting the win.

“It really pulls the teams above us back within reach and if we get another three points on Saturday, we are right back in it. It’s time to climb out of that bottom three.”

Sauchie have now won two games in a row after an up-and-down start to the season, and Duncan is hopeful that they can keep their new-found momentum going when they host Broughty Athletic on Saturday afternoon.

He said: “It’s important to keep the momentum going into Saturday’s game. We’re expecting it to be a bit more difficult than the Carnoustie game so we have to make sure we are at the races. This game and the Kennoway game next week are so important. The good thing for me is that Brian Morgan and Graeme are now back involved, so the squad is looking a bit stronger. That will give us a boost.”

The manager is anxious to add depth to his squad after a number of departures, and although he is yet to bring any new faces in, he is determined to continue his search for the players he feels will give his team an extra edge.

Duncan added: “We are speaking to a few individuals and we nearly had a deal done last week but it fell through at the last minute. It’s disappointing but we will keep looking and trying our hardest to bring in the players we need.”