Clachnacuddin boss Conor Gethins heaped praise on his North of Scotland Cup comeback aces – and believes the class of 2024 are learning all the time.
Trailing 1-0 at half-time away to holders Nairn County on Wednesday, then 2-0 early in the second half, it looked like Ross Tokely’s team were roaring towards the semi-finals.
However, goals from James Anderson and Connor Bunce brought the tie back to 2-2 before they held their nerves in a knife-edge shoot-out to win 4-3, with Lewis Mackenzie netting the decisive spot-kick.
The latest big result followed four successive wins for the Inverness team, who sit third in the Highland League before hosting 11th-placed champions Buckie Thistle this weekend.
‘Boys showed heart’ to reach semis
Gethins pointed to the efforts of his assistant Robbie Duncanson for playing a key role in helping the side go for broke to recover from a losing position.
He said: “We were down 1-0 (at half-time) and we didn’t give the boys a hard time.
“We spoke to them and asked them to show us they had heart and desire and how much they wanted to win. I left them to it.
“We’ve got the likes of Joe Malin and Josh Meekings, while Gavin Morrison was in there too. These guys take control – it is natural to them.
“The most pleasing thing for me was these boys showed they had heart.
“We changed our formation at half-time and that was down to my assistant Robbie Duncanson. I trust him and it paid off as we asked the boys to go for it.
“Nairn scored a second goal early in the second half and the Clach side of 2023-24 might have folded and lost by five or six – but not this time.
“One of my best friends (Wayne Mackintosh) put his penalty over the bar, which gave us the chance to win the shoot-out.”
Praise for hero Lewis Mackenzie
Gethins was thrilled for winger-turned-attacker Mackenzie to emerge as the penalty hero.
He said: “I was delighted for Lewis. He needed that wee boost, and I am hoping he can kick on now.
“These kids had not been in that position before, where they’ve been behind like that, and they’ve had to roll their sleeves up and do the dirty work.
“We then have magic players who can do things out of nothing.
“The excitement and joys that you see in the players afterwards is great. When you speak to experienced players like Josh Meekings and Joe Malin, they still love that feeling.”
‘We know we can beat Buckie’
On Saturday, champions Buckie Thistle are Clach’s visiting opponents.
The Jags, in 11th spot, are six points behind with one match in hand, and Gethins is keen to savour another winning upset after a 3-2 victory against them at Victoria Park in February.
He said: “Buckie will be a completely different game.
“Buckie will have a lot of control of the ball, but we know we can beat them.
“We beat them away from home last season, so we know we can do it.
“The boys will be tired, emotionally and physically after Wednesday, but after resting, we’ll give it a good account of ourselves. Why can’t we beat them?”
Conversation