HELENSBURGH may have got their season off to a winning start on Saturday but coach John Cashmore insists he wasn’t best pleased with his side’s display.

Burgh came out 26-16 winners over Garnock at Ardencaple but the Greens struggled to get into gear throughout the tie.

A second half fight back from the visitors put the hosts under some pressure but they managed to hold on for a crucial, confidence building victory.

Cashmore highlighted a lack of match practice as the key reason behind his side not firing on all cylinders but stressed that a win is a win.

He told Advertiser Sport: “We looked very rusty at times, in all honesty we weren’t very good but it has given us something to build upon.

“We weren’t at our sharpest but there are some positives to take from the game itself.

“Our scramble defence was very good and we managed to take our chances which is crucial but a typical Burgh slow start to the second half put us under some pressure.

“But, hey, a win is a win and if we play like that and win every week then I would take that as we can only get better.” The Garnock fixture was Cashmore’s first competitive tie since replacing Bill McDonald during the close season.

Despite having patrolled the Ardencaple touchline in the past, Cashmore admitted he experienced some pre match nerves heading into the tie.

He continued: “I was probably more nervous than I have ever been in all honesty.

“I just didn’t really know what to expect — both from our guys and from Garnock.

“Garnock are newly promoted to the league and are a bit of an unknown quantity but these teams tend to do very well in their first season.” Helensburgh now look forward to travelling to Annan on Saturday.

Annan experienced a 48-15 defeat at the hands of GHK last weekend but Cashmore is under no illusions that it will be any easy tie.

He added: “Annan are always a difficult test and we will have a couple of players missing so we know it won’t be easy.

“They tend to struggle away from home due to work commitments so you shouldn’t read too much into their score line at the weekend.

“But, we look forward to the test and hopefully we managed a win and a better performance.”