MKM Shielfield breathed a huge collective sigh of relief at the final whistle as the three points saw the Borderers leapfrog visitors Cumbernauld Colts and move seven clear of the basement.
The black and gold had a big East of Scotland Qualifying Cup semi-final against Dunbar United on Tuesday night ahead of Saturday’s fixture away at Albion Rovers.
Jonny Devers whipped over a corner in the blustery weather and Watson’s downward header powered up into the roof of the net to win it for a delighted Haynes on the hour.
“Let’s be honest, the game was ruined by the conditions,” the boss admitted after.
“It wasn’t a spectacle, although I think we passed the ball a lot better than we have done. That might have been dictated a bit more by the conditions, because we can’t kick the ball high up into the wind so they were having to pass the ball, certainly in the first half when we were against the wind,” he said.
“I’ve got to give the players massive credit for that. We tried to play, we tried to keep the ball in the difficult conditions, and it changed the second half and allowed it to put a lot more pressure on Cumbernauld with the wind where we had them hemmed in a bit.”
The win will have boosted Haynes’ side’s confidence for the travel up to Coatbridge against Sandy Clark’s seventh-placed outfit, with the manager revealing that they had been bolstered by a chat among themselves ahead of the Cumbernauld game.
“We had a good week and we discussed the consequences of our current position and it just seemed a place that had a bit of belief today,” he said.
“All the players were outstanding. It’s a together group. We had the conversation on Thursday and it gives them a couple of days to digest it and there’s not so much pressure, they understand the consequences what potentially could be, and they all came in today in great spirits. We had a bit of determination to fight for three points, which was great.”
A win at fellow former SFL side Albion would just about guarantee Berwick’s Lowland League safety.
Bottom side Gala trail Cumbernauld and Broomhill by six points and the ‘Gers by seven with three games to play.
Anything other than a victory at the University of Striling on Saturday would see the Galashiels side virtually condemned to relegation.