Utility player Tim Robertson is confident his team will rise to the occasion of a top-four clash with Stirling Lions, just days after eking out a point against lowly Cockburn City.   Inglewood United returned home from Dalmatinac Park on Saturday with a 4-4 draw after the Cockerels conjured up a last-gasp equaliser.

The single point was enough to keep Inglewood on top of the National Premier Leagues on an afternoon when nearest rivals Bayswater City also failed to collect the win.   “There were mixed emotions after the game,” Robertson commented.   “It was good to get the point but we missed a great opportunity to go five points clear at the top.”

“It’s fair to say that if you concede four goals you probably don’t deserve to win.   We played some great football at times and took our chances really well, unfortunately it wasn’t a full 90 minute performance as we let them dictate the final ten minutes and we paid a heavy price for that.”

“There were some valuable lessons that we learnt on Saturday and as a team we have no desire to do that again in the remaining games of the season.   We’re still top of the ladder, we’ve got a great positive team culture and we will bounce back just like we have done in the past.”

Robertson expects to see a much more coherent performance when Inglewood travels to Macedonia to play fourth-placed Stirling this Saturday.   “Stirling away is going to be a very tough ask,” said Robertson.   “They’ve got a strong side and they picked up the win when we played earlier in the season.”

“But as a team we’re confident that when we’re at our best we can beat anyone in the competition.   There aren’t a lot of games left I the league and we want to keep, and maybe even increase, the gap between us and the rest of the league so getting three points this weekend is our priority.”