Irvine Meadow co manager Colin Spence applauded forward Connor Boyd after he scored twice in Medda’s 3-1 win over Kilbirnie Ladeside at the weekend.

The striker has struggled with injuries so far this season but started well from the off at Valefield Park.

Almost immediately, the away side suckered the Blasties when Mark McLennan whipped in another trademark free kick early on.

Boyd then stepped up to twist and turn the Kilbirnie defence before blasting in to double their lead before the break.

The attacker then got his second in the final 45 minutes, scoring on the counter as Medda ended the Blasties hopes of a comeback.

Speaking to the Times, Spence said: “Boyd is still struggling a little bit, he is still just feeling the effects of his injuries earlier in the season.

“He was not very happy when I took him off after he scored his second goal, as he wanted his chance to get the hattrick.

“But it is a case of protecting him as he is very important to the team.

“If that is Boyd maybe 70-80 per cent fit then god help the rest of the league when we eventually get him back to full fitness.

“He is a constant threat and a real goalscorer.”

Next up for Meadow is a derby match up against Kilwinning Rangers in the South Challenge Cup. The Buffs beat Meadow 3-1 in the Premier Division earlier in the season, with Spence saying his players need to be up for the occasion on Saturday.

He said:”We have picked up nine points out of 12 in the league from our last four games.

“It is three clean sheets out of the last four league games also, so we are in a good place.

“We are no conceding goals and we are scoring plenty of goals.

“I am disappointed we cannot get a run of games in the league, our season has been stop start lately with cup games.

“But it is sign you are doing ok, when you are still in plenty of cups.

“We need to put it right against Kilwinning. it is a cup final for them every time they play against us, so we need to match that.”