A local derby was perhaps what was needed on Saturday to get Locos back into the groove, but by half-time at Christie Park we were lamenting the lack of spark from both teams.
Locos shaded a rather lacklustre first-half, but yet again fell behind to the first goal. The co-managers, to my surprise, resisted the temptation to start with some of the younger players, but they fielded forward Andy Hunter in midfield and he played well. Locos have a group of very skilful players, but just why they’re off the boil at present is difficult to explain.
What a transformation after half-time! Huntly scored again and Locos woke up. Huntly responded and we had a game on our hands. And, dare I say it, some much needed derby needle! After Jordon Leyden pulled a goal back it was good to see Neil McLean encouraging his players to get stuck in, as they sensed Huntly were on the back foot and victory was a real possibility. Strikes from Martin Laing and a great winning goal from Marc Young sealed it. To be fair to Huntly, they kept going and could have pinched another goal, as could Locos towards the end.
This was certainly the proverbial game of two halves and the second 45 minutes alone justified the entrance money, at least for the Locos’ supporters. Huntly should, however, be encouraged by a better performance and, on this showing, they are moving forward under their new management team.
A couple of refereeing incidents added to the entertainment and aroused considerable debate. Kieran Adam’s passback was inexplicably picked up by Locos’ goalkeeper Andy Reid, but was even more inexplicably ignored by referee Mark Stewart. And a Huntly player picked up the ball for a throw-in… despite the ball not crossing the line. The linesman was right on the spot and correctly did not flag, but the referee wrongly allowed the throw-in. Another case of a linesman not standing up for himself! Or am I missing something?