Tranent boss Calvin Shand: Little between EoS League and Lowland League

Shand’s men were emphatic 6-0 winners in the Borders as they continued their fine start to the season with victory in the Football Nation Qualifying Cup.

“I was really pleased with our performance and the result, and, in all honesty it probably could’ve been more,” said Shand. “It was a good win for us because on paper it is a difficult place to go; they are a young team but they are a good team. To get through to the next round was the most important thing but the performance just added to that.

“I don’t think there is any doubt that we’ve got quality in our squad, and I don’t think there is a big gulf between the majority of the Lowland League and the majority of our league at the moment; a lot of these ex-Junior teams will get up there eventually.”

Injuries have been the only disappointment for Shand in the start to the campaign so far, with Bradley Barrett and Ben Miller the latest to join their lengthy injury list in their midweek friendly defeat by a Hibs XI.

The match was abandoned after fears Miller had sustained a broken leg, but thankfully scans proved otherwise after the former Berwick Rangers youngster was rushed to hospital.

Shand added: “Ben got a bad tackle and was taken straight to hospital so he will be out for a lengthy period. It was a bad one, we couldn’t really move him at first and we just abandoned the game with nine minutes to go, with light playing a part in that. It was the sensible thing to do, we got him taken to hospital and thankfully there is no break, just tendon and ligament damage but sometimes that can be worse in terms of recovery.”