Albion Rovers midfielder Barry Duncan is hoping his sensational showing against Gretna 2008 on Saturday is enough to cement his place in Sandy Clark’s starting eleven.
The 20-year-old, who previously starred for Graeme Liveston’s Reserves side, has so far been a mainstay in the team this campaign after impressing in pre-season training.
Over the weekend his two goal contribution helped Rovers secure a 4-0 win over the hosts for a first three points of the campaign.
Last term, Duncan only managed 13 League 2 appearances off the bench as the Coatbridge club eventually faced relegation to the fifth tier after a play-off defeat to the Spartans over two legs.
“I am just delighted to actually be getting a chance to show what I can do,” Duncan said. “Last season was tough going personally for me because I didn’t really get enough of an opportunity to show that I was good enough to play. That is in the past now.
“George (Paterson) and the gaffer came in and have been brand new – they gave me a bit of confidence straight away simply by taking an interest in me.
“Over the summer I was involved straight away and I have been playing in the team which is the main thing for me. I just want to play.”
The midfielder netted twice at Raydale Park – with both strikes of the highest quality. Duncan made it 3-0 with an inch-perfect free kick from 25 yards before rounding off the scoring in injury-time with a well-taken volley at the back post.
On the goals, he said: “Niyah (Joseph) told me to roll it to him and set him up. He took the previous free kick and skied it so there was no chance – I wanted a go at it and I thought I would score. It is something I think I can do and hopefully that shows I can score from that sort of area if we get a chance.
“The second goal was a great team move and I was just happy to get on the end of it – that sort of run is something I have been working on in training so it was great to see it come off.”
Rovers now have a break from Lowland League action already, with cup matches against Tranent and Newburgh coming up before facing league leaders Bo’ness United midweek later this month.
“The most important thing however is winning games,” Duncan said. “That is all that matters. The fans were brilliant and it was a fair trip down to Gretna but they came in their numbers. We have to give them a team to be proud of again. I am enjoying playing but the team doing well is the most important thing.”
