WONDER goal scorer Michael Wardrope firmly believes Kilwinning Rangers can win the Premier Division after netting "the best goal of my career" on Saturday.

The former Ayr United midfielder remarkably scored the opening goal from the halfway line as table-toppers Buffs lead second-placed Pollok by nine points ahead of their meeting at Newlandsfield Park this weekend.

Wardrope admitted he knew exactly what he was doing and said: "I saw the Beith goalie off his line and as soon as I hit I knew it was going in, that's why I started celebrating before the ball even hit the back of the net. It was a big win for us as Beith have been going well. I think we can now go on to win the league. My uncle Michael did it and hopefully in his footsteps. We have a really good team and adding in the likes of James Latta and Craig Pettigrew to the squad has helped this season."

Manager Chris Strain was delighted with his team's efforts and said: "We limited Beith to very few chances and they were living off scraps, which says a lot for the players. The final ball let us a down a bit early on but then there were pieces of individual brilliance from Michael Wardrope and David Winters for their goals. David scored another great goal and it was perfectly onside, I have watched it back. But it was chalked off."

However Strain cautioned: "We are taking nothing for granted but we are now nine points ahead of Pollok, who have moved up to second and we can go 12 points clear of them if we win on Saturday and that has to be the aim."

Irvine Victoria manager Stevie Wilson saluted goalscorer David Cunningham as his side defeated his former Saltcoats Victoria away to further bolster their promotion dreams.

He said: "It was a good win, Saltcoats were hard to break down. But it was a great goal from David, he hit it first time after a corner from Callum Davidson had been cleared by the Saltcoats defence. That was an important win for us although we are not there yet. Hopefully if we can pick up another two or three wins that will be enough for us to clinch promotion."

Vics are also in West of Scotland Cup action on Saturday, facing Kirkintilloch Rob Roy away.

He said: "We are focusing on the league, but this is a free hit and we will give it a go. Rob Roy were knocked out of the Scottish Cup on Saturday and will be hurting."