TEAM boss Cami Brown has paid tribute to the “attitude and hard work” from young reserves Freddy Hodder and Max Perry.
The Allied Vehicles Tigers grabbed a vital 46-44 win at rivals Edinburgh on Friday night.
It was a tough clash for the reserves but Brown was quick to praise the youngsters.
He said: “I was delighted to get the win but for both Freddy and Max it was a hard night. They were up against the best reserve in the league in Victor Palovaara.
“I’ve got nothing but admiration for both the lads. They both got stuck in all night and gave it everything.
“It had been a challenging meeting for them but they were very much part of the team success and celebrated at the end like they should.
“They are always going to have tough nights. It’s so hard breaking into the Championship level as a youngster. We know that and we are supporting them.
“What I like is their attitude and hard work. It has been first class so far.
“They must not forget that their contributions have been vital. All of our wins have been by narrow margins so far, even just getting over the line on aggregate in the Scottish Cup.
“Both Freddy and Max have scored the vital points, picking up the important third places.
“Between them in four fixtures they have scored paid seven, four, paid 14 and one.
“Max obviously had a wonderful night at Berwick. But they are both chipping in. They will be inconsistent because they are learning their trade.
“But they are giving 100 per cent to the cause with total dedication wanting to play their part in a winning team. We are totally delighted with them.
“They’ve also only had one home meeting and three away. They really need laps around Ashfield to help with their confidence.
“We built the team with a strong top five to take the pressure off them as much as possible.
“It’s a fascinating league because some teams have strong top fives and some have strong reserves.
“Edinburgh are a very good side in my opinion. They will be tough to beat at Armadale with some very shrewd signings.
“But it was fantastic to see how well Leon (Flint) and Ashton (Boughen) fought so hard for everything. The team appears to be settling in nicely.”
Berwick are the next visitors to Ashfield on Sunday, May 4 at 6pm and then it’s the Monarchs again on Friday, May 9, both in the BSN Series.
Brown added: “It’s been an odd start to the season with three wins away and a loss at home.
“Berwick are Edinburgh have sides that are quite capable of winning at Ashfield, the Monarchs have already shown that. It’s going to be a big six days for us but we are eager to get some home meetings and wins under our belt.”