Willie Paterson was quick to pay tribute to his Petershill troopers after they completed the double over Glenafton Athletic.

But the Peasie boss admitted the game had changed on a penalty decision that went the way of his side - and saw the Glens reduced to 10 men after losing their goalkeeper.

However, the three points gained at Loch Park pushed them up to third in the Super Premier table, a position Paterson reckons might even have been a little higher but for a couple of results going the 'wrong' way.

He said: "I would have to say we weren't at our best, but we showed a different set of qualities by scraping out a result.

"I reckon Glenafton are the best football side we've played this season, so the fact we've taken six points from them speaks volumes for us. It really is a feather inn our cap.

"Earlier in the season we were dominating games but losing out by the odd goal.

"I wanted us to toughen up and even start winning games in an ugly manner, and that's what we have introduced to our game."

Former Renfrew ace Alain Kinney had given Glens the lead in the first-half, but the game changed shortly afterwards when home keeper Brian McGarrity was sent off - and Peasie were awarded a spot-kick.

Kieran Daw scored from 12 yards to level matters and Michael Daly, on loan from Clyde, grabbed the winner.

As a result, Peasie are now tucked in just behind Ayrshire giants Irvine Meadow and Auchinleck Talbot in the top-flight table.

Paterson said: "I was delighted with all our players, but a special mention must go to young Kieran Daw. He is only 19 but has taken to the juniors like a fish to water.

"He is one of 12 new players we have brought in this season, which is a massive turnover. Kieran is a smashing player and was with Clyde up until recently. He went out on loan to Lowland League side East Kilbride Thistle and was spotted there by my assistant, Paul Kelly, and he has turned out to be a cracker.

"Kieran has scored four goals from four starts - with two of those coming against the Medda and Talbot, which is quite a baptism for a young player.

"He is the kind of guy who won't be with us forever. He has a great future in the game and we will enjoy having him while he is here."

Paterson admitted he is enjoying dining out at the top table, especially as his side was written off as relegation fodder by many within the junior game at the start of the season.

But with such a large turnover of players - and the departure of co-boss, Scott Smith - maybe Peasie were indeed bookies favourites to take the drop.

He said: "We were certainly tipped by quite a few people to go down this season so naturally I'm glad we are managing to prove a few people wrong.

"Those comments definitely helped galvanised us.

"Apart from ourselves, I look at the top of the table and I see teams like Medda, Talbot and Hurlford, but they don't scare me. If I didn't think we could win this league then I wouldn't be manager of Petershill.

"Since I took over, we have finished second twice, and maybe if we had won our games against the bottom two this season we would be sitting second at the moment.

"But we have just re-signed eight of our players for next season, and the younger guys will have a year's experience when next season begins.

"They will only get better. In fact, their talent has never been in question, but perhaps they just lacked that bit of experience.

"But chasing the league will always be my goal. It has to be, and we certainly have the guys who can help achieve that.

"For me, it's not about budgets. Sure, there are many teams in our division who operate on bigger budgets than us.

"But if lose the league then I will never say it was because they had more money than us.

"It's all about signing the right players and building a team. It's a long season so you also need a big squad of players.

"Paul and I watch games most nights and we never stop searching for the right players - those that could come in and help get us where we want to be."