Nairn County manager Steven Mackay was delighted to see his side pick up their first win of the season with a 4-2 success against Strathspey Thistle.
Although, the Station Park boss was unhappy with the way they conceded twice after taking a 4-0 lead.
The Wee County were four up in just over an hour thanks to a Conor Gethins double and goals from Callum Maclean and Scott Davidson.
But two goals in a minute from Aiden Cruickshank, his first from the penalty spot, put a different complexion on the match.
Mackay said: “I’m delighted we got the first win, that was always the main objective but it would have been nice to keep a clean sheet.
“But delighted to get the win and take that forward to Keith next week.
“We’ve got a run of games against teams that are in and around us, we want to climb the table as quickly as possible.
“We’ve got three points which were much needed and hopefully we can build on that.”
County quickly click into gear
Nairn took the lead in the 14th minute when Andrew Greig corner was headed powerfully into the net by Callum Maclean from close range.
The home side should have gone further ahead in the 21st minute when a deep cross from Greig found Gethins at the back post but the forward’s header was easily held by Jags’ keeper Michael MacCallum.
The visitors were still well in the match and they created a couple of good chances before Nairn who doubled their lead five minutes from the break.
Calum Howarth picked out Gethins in the box and his low-angled drive ended up in the far corner of the net.
It looked all over as a contest in the 52nd minute when Davidson made it 3-0 with a simple tap-in after good work from Howarth.
The Wee County added a fourth goal in the 63rd minute when Davidson’s shot was deflected to Gethins who had the easy task of netting.
18' A genius bit of off the ball movement finds Scott Davidson clear in the box, his shot deflected into the path of Conor Gethins. A second goal of the game for Gethins!
🟡 4-0 🔵 pic.twitter.com/tQaPzGlZaM
— Nairn County FC (@NairnCounty) October 22, 2022
To their credit, Strathspey kept plugging away and two goals in the space of a minute from Cruickshank put a different complexion on the game.
Nairn goalkeeper Dylan MacLean brought down Jack Davidson in the box and Cruickshank converted from the spot. Within a minute Cruickshank scored again after he waltzed his way into the box before finding the net.
But despite a couple of let-offs before the end, Nairn held out for a much-needed three points.
Strathspey assistant manager Mark Holmes said: “I didn’t think there was much between the teams.
“But if you don’t take your chances you put yourself under pressure a the other end.
“It’s been the story of our season. I thought we could have taken something from the game.”
Rothes 3-0 Keith
A double from Aidan Wilson helped Rothes to a 3-0 win over Keith at Mackessack Park.
The first half was closely fought, but the Speysiders took control in the second period and secured the points.
Rothes manager Ross Jack said: “It was a good win in the end, I thought Keith put in a great show in the first half.
“Our goal late on in the first half totally changed our half-time team talk.
“We’ve struggled this season to score goals and get clean sheets, so to get both was great.
“We could have scored more, their goalkeeper had a couple of great saves and we also hit the post.
“We worked hard as a team and thoroughly deserved the win.”
Keith started the game quite brightly, taking the game to their hosts, but passed up a chance to take the lead when Tom Andrews hit the ball straight at the goalkeeper Sean McCarthy from 15 yards.
With four minutes remaining of the first half, Wilson pounced to rocket a super shot into the corner of the net from 16 yards following a corner.
The Speysiders came out after the break and dominated from start to finish, forcing the Maroons into several errors.
The points were more or less sealed in the 59th minute when Dem Yunus upended Jake Thompson inside the penalty area and Alan Pollock made no mistake with the resultant spot kick.
The icing on the cake came four minutes later when the visiting rearguard failed to clear their lines and Wilson sent a looping header into the roof of the net from 10 yards.
Rothes could have scored more after that but Keith goalkeeper Craig Reid pulled off two great saves to deny Michael Finnis and Fraser Robertson.
Maroons manager Craig Ewen said: “The first half we played quite well and probably edged it, but didn’t have the cutting edge and then lost the late goal.
“Rothes totally dictated the second half, we were very poor and just didn’t turn up, I don’t know why.
“It was poor individual errors that led to the goals, and the second half was a big disappointment.”
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