Kilwinning Rangers manager Chris Strain says he was pleased with his side’s commanding performance as they beat Irvine Meadow 4-2 to lift the Eglinton Cup.

The two local rivals met at Medda Park at the weekend to contest the now annual pre season cup for the first time.

The Buffs kicked off the game brightly, Thomas Collins getting an early goal to put the visitors ahead.

They then doubled their lead not long after, Ally McColm with a smart finish through the legs of Meadow goalkeeper David Markey.

Meadow got back into the match through Dylan Pooler, catching the buffs sleeping after the restart. The away side regained their two-goal advantage not long after however, with David Syme scoring from the penalty spot.

That was not to be the the last goal of the first half through as a fantastic free kick from Michael Wardrope cut the deficit down to one before the break.

Meadow’s hopes of lifting the trophy were dashed in the second half however courtesy of a cool finish from Gavin Millar to end the scoring 4-2 to the away side.

Speaking to the Times, Strain said: “It was a bit of silverware in name only it was still a friendly, but we were pleased to get the result.

“It was a good test, competitive game, played in the right manner and a worthwhile exercise for us.

“I did not feel we were under any threat during the match, we were the dominant side throughout the 90 minutes.

“We had a spell ten minutes before half time where they were slightly the better team, but I do not think we were ever holding on.”

Next up for Kilwinning Rangers is their first game of the 2021/22 West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) Premier Division at home to Troon.

Kilwinning have already faced Troon this pre season beating them 4-0 at Buffs Park last month.

Despite the comprehensive result the last time the two sides met , Strain insists the league opener will be far from a formality.

He added: “It will be a tough game, they will be better prepared. They were slightly behind us in terms of when they started pre season. “