Manager Patrick Cregg praised his Brechin City side for overcoming adversity to extend their unbeaten run in the Breedon Highland League.
The Hedgemen came from behind to record an impressive 3-1 victory against Banks o’ Dee at Spain Park.
Cregg said: “It was a tough game, we had to overcome a bit of adversity after they took the lead.
“From a physical point of view I thought we were brilliant. I’ve seen us play better in possession, but physically we were outstanding.
“We’d started well and then we went one down from a set piece.
“I wasn’t panicking, but I knew the next goal was going to be huge and we got a bit of fortune with the equaliser.
“Their keeper will probably feel he should save it, but you need those elements of luck and we got it.
“At half-time I felt we had a huge chance of winning the game and whoever got the next goal I felt would go on to win it. It was important that we got the next goal.”
Match action
In a lively start Andy Hunter drew a decent save from City goalkeeper Lenny Wilson and at the other end Dayle Robertson headed narrowly over from Marc Scott’s cross.
The deadlock was broken by Dee in the 12th minute.
Michael Philipson’s corner from the left wasn’t cleared and when the ball looped up Hunter met it with an overhead kick from 10 yards which flashed into the net with the aid of a deflection.
The lead only lasted seven minutes though, as City equalised with a helping hand from home goalkeeper Daniel Hoban.
Robertson’s neat lay-off found Fraser MacLeod 25 yards out and his low shot squirmed under the body of Hoban and into the net.
It was an effort the custodian would usually save and he was visibly disappointed.
Brechin had to replace striker Robertson – who has netted 12 times this season – with Craig Tosh at half-time due to a swollen ankle.
In the 57th minute Brechin took the lead. MacLeod exchanged passes with Ewan Loudon at the edge of the box before finding the bottom right corner with a pinpoint finish.
In the 69th minute Brechin scored their third to seal victory.
Loudon chased Spencer Moreland’s ball in behind and brushed off the attentions of Darryn Kelly before lashing his shot into the roof of the net.
Disappointment for Dee
Banks o’ Dee are 11 points behind Brechin and have yet to beat the Angus outfit in five league clashes.
Co-manager Paul Lawson said: “We’re disappointed, we didn’t get up to the standards we’ve set in the past.
“We got ourselves in front without starting particularly well and as soon as it went 1-1 I think we lacked a bit of belief to go again which was disappointing.
“It was 1-1 at half-time and we didn’t feel like we’d got started so you’re hoping for more in the second half.
“But we didn’t get going at all which is disappointing in such a big game.
“It sounds bitter but I thought the officiating was poor, but he doesn’t cost us the goals we lose.
“However, in terms of the pattern of the game I thought Brechin refereed the game from start to finish.”
Clachnacuddin 2-0 Strathspey Thistle
Clachnacuddin kept up their strong early-season form with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Strathspey Thistle.
On-form attacker Connor Bunce’s stunning first-half strike looked like settling the match, before Lewis Mackenzie added a late second at Grant Street Park.
Clach threatened on eight minutes when Bunce got in behind the Jags defence before seeing his effort well saved by Euan Storrier.
Strathspey’s first attempt came on 14 minutes, but James Fraser could not keep his header down from a Cameron Lisle throw-in.
Filip Franczak was next to threaten for the Jags, but saw his snapshot from the edge of the box comfortably gathered by Joe Malin.
The vastly-experienced Malin was out quickly to thwart a potential opening for Kieran Duffty moments later.
Clach began to up their threat at the other end, with James Anderson’s close-range effort blocked behind, while Harry Nicolson saw a long-range effort palmed to safety by Storrier.
Troy Cooper came close to an opener for the home side on 34 minutes after being picked out by Harry Bray’s crossfield pass, but he struck a low effort into the side-netting.
Hosts make the breakthrough
The Lilywhites were not to be denied on 38 minutes however, taking the lead in stunning fashion when Bunce let fly with a sublime 30-yard effort which curled beyond the grasp of Storrier and into the top corner.
Rorie Macleod passed up a fine chance to double the advantage on the stroke of half-time, when he struck straight at Storrier after the ball broke to him in the box.
Clach started the second half on the front foot, with Bunce trying his luck again from distance on 56 minutes but he was off target with a free-kick.
Bunce was once again denied when his powerful strike was well saved by Storrier, who did even better to deny Craig Lawrie who looked to convert the rebound.
Strathspey looked to apply pressure in their efforts for an equaliser, with substitute Josh Race seeing a menacing low cutback cleared behind by Jacob Kerr, while Paul Brindle sent a free-kick high over the bar.
Brindle was inches from levelling on 83 minutes when he stabbed an effort just wide after latching on to a loose ball inside the box.
The Lilywhites wrapped up the points on the counter-attack with a minute to spare, when Scott Davidson slipped in fellow substitute Mackenzie to drill a composed effort past Storrier.
Inverurie Locos 4-0 Lossiemouth
Inverurie climbed up to third with a comfortable victory over Lossiemouth at Harlaw Park.
Two goals either side of half-time saw them ease to three points, leapfrogging Banks o’ Dee in the Highland League table.
Locos dictated proceedings from the start and took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with a scorching finish from Aidan Wilson, who lashed a smart cross from Calum Dingwall beyond Stuart Knight with a powerful left footed shot.
Nathan Meres also looked lively for the hosts up top and he jabbed an effort straight at the Lossie stopper shortly afterwards.
And the forward got a reward for his early efforts in the 25th minute when he slipped in behind the Coasters’ defence to convert a neat through ball from Cole Anderson, his shot clipping the underside of the bar on its way in.
The Lossie backline looked robust for large periods of the second half which will be a source of confidence for caretaker manager Gavin Price as they look to move away from the bottom end of the table.
But there was no excusing the weak defending which allowed Zane Laird to nip into the box and be brought down by a combination of Knight and Jared Kennedy.
Paul Coutts then stepped up and sent Knight the wrong way from 12 yards.
With full-time approaching, Callum Duncan added a flourish to the scoreline with a thumping strike from 20 yards.
Rothes 0-3 Buckie Thistle
Three goals in six minutes at the start of the second half gave Buckie a comfortable win over Rothes at Mackessack Park.
Ross Logan caused the visitors problems early on and he had a good run into the penalty area on 11 minutes, but when he went down under a challenge from Sam Pugh, referee Stuart Randall booked him for diving.
On 32 minutes, Pugh played in Lyall Keir and his low shot was well saved by Sean McCarthy, then the home keeper made a scrambling save at his right post to keep it goalless.
At the other end, Logan did well to rob McHardy, but he rifled his shot wide from 20 yards.
Thomas Brady missed a good chance for the home side four minutes from the break when he latched onto a poor kick out, but he blasted his shot way over from 16 yards.
Buckie pushed for an opener at the start of the second half and Keir was denied by another McCarthy save after being set up by Andrew MacAskill.
McCarthy then made a superb save with his legs to deny Keir again on 52 minutes.
Joe McCabe was unlucky when his header from Pugh’s cross hit the underside of the bar and bounced out, but from the resultant corner, Goodall’s drive was deflected beyond McCarthy for the opener.
Three minutes later Innes McKay rose highest to power MacAskill’s corner beyond McCarthy to make it two.
Number three arrived on 62 minutes, McHardy slamming the ball home from McCabe’s knockdown from another MacAskill corner.
Huntly 3-4 Forres Mechanics
Forres Mechanics came from behind to end a five-game winless streak with a 4-3 victory at Huntly.
Huntly got off to a great start with a goal inside the first 90 seconds when Angus Grant tapped in following a ricochet inside the opposition box.
Huntly goalkeeper Jack Robertson kept Jordan Alonge out on the quarter-hour mark with a save from a dead ball.
On-loan Forres keeper Logan Ross did well to deny Sam Robertson after the forward got on the end of a Finlay Allen pass.
Robertson again denied the hosts with a great one-on-one stop against Alonge.
A long range effort from Mark McLauchlan was parried by Robertson before Alonge blazed over on the rebound.
Robertson pulled off a save against Kyle Macleod in 28 minutes before clearing upfield to Cameron Heslop. Heslop played a neat ball through to Angus Grant who drilled low to double the advantage.
Forres pulled one back with two minutes of the half remaining. James Connelly cleared a Mark McLauchlan shot off the line before Kyle MacLeod drilled home his sixth of the campaign.
With four minutes of the second half gone, Allen gathered a poor clearance before curling in from outside the box.
Mark McLauchlan reduced the deficit on 68 minutes with a powerful long range strike.
Substitute Callum Frame levelled with 14 minutes to go by powering in a low drive.
Frame netted the winner for Forres with seven minutes remaining, getting in front of his marker to prod home from close range for his fourth of the season.
Brora Rangers 5-0 Wick Academy
Brora Rangers maintained the pressure on leaders Brechin City with a 5-0 home victory against Wick Academy.
It was the second time the sides had met in the space of a fortnight with Brora beating the Scorries 1-0 at Dudgeon Park in the quarter-final of the North of Scotland Cup earlier this month.
On this occasion, Brora made it four league wins on the bounce with a comfortable victory.
Mark Nicolson opened the scoring after two minutes, nodding home a Craig MacKenzie corner.
The Cattachs almost doubled their lead five minutes later when a MacKenzie strike bounced back off the post.
The home support didn’t have to wait long for a second with George Robesten firing home for his second goal in as many games.
Brora made it 3-0 in the 34th minute when Colin Williamson chipped the ball over Wick goalkeeper Graeme Williamson.
Former Caley Thistle attacker Shane Sutherland made his playing return as a second half substitute following a lengthy injury absence.
Brora grabbed a fourth with 12 minutes remaining with Robesten again on target before substitute Ryan McRitchie made it five in the 84th minute.
Brora head to Deveronvale on Saturday, while Wick travel to Forres.
Nairn County 2-0 Keith
Nairn County made it two wins on the spin with a 2-0 victory against Keith at Station Park.
Nairn, 4-0 winners at Lossiemouth at the weekend, went close to breaking the deadlock when Scott Lisle teed up Andrew Greig but he was unable to find a way past Craig Reid in the Keith goal.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men after only 21 minutes when Ryan Spink was sent off for a challenge on Angus Dey.
Nairn took the lead six minutes before the break when a Matthew Wright cross was turned into his own net by a Keith player.
Ben Barron fired over early in the second half but the striker eventually got his goal when he headed home a Greig cross.
Next up for Nairn is a home match against bottom of the league Strathspey Thistle on Saturday. Keith host Inverurie Locos.
Turriff 0-2 Deveronvale
Deveronvale ended a five-game run without a league win with a 2-0 victory against Turriff United at the Haughs.
Vale were ahead at the break thanks to Jack Mitchell’s opener after 26 minutes. Mitchell netted another eight minutes into the second half to double Deveronvale’s lead.
The result stretches Turriff’s run without a league win to five games.
Turriff make the trip to champions Buckie Thistle on Saturday, while Vale host Brora Rangers.
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