An early Conor MacPhee strike was enough to give Strathspey Thistle a 1-0 victory in the Speyside derby to leave Rothes languishing at the bottom of the Breedon Highland League table.
The Grantown outfit are three points ahead of Rothes and with a much superior goal difference with games running out.
Strathspey Thistle manager Ryan Esson said: “We knew the importance of the game before we came into it and we know how good a team we are.
“We’ve shown it but just not got the results.
“It was a really scrappy game but we should have been two or three up in the first half.
“We didn’t get those goals and they started to get a wee bit of a foothold in the game near the end of the first half.
“They were also on the front foot at the start of the second half but I thought we saw the game out quite comfortably.
“Conor MacPhee could have had a hat-trick but I’m just glad he took one of his chances, having scored when he came off the bench at Banks o’ Dee as well.”
Fast start proves the difference
The Grantown Jags hit Rothes for six at Mackessack Park in the corresponding fixture in October leaving the Speysiders looking for sweet revenge.
Strathspey striker Paul Brindle started after recovering from injury but Rothes still had no fewer than nine players on the sidelines.
The home side were the first to threaten but Conor MacPhee’s 15-yard drive was charged down by the onrushing Rothes defence.
Strathspey opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Conor MacPhee capitalised on indecision between Matthew McConnachie and keeper Sean McCarthy to slide the ball home from six yards.
Five minutes later McCarthy got down to smother an Ali Nixon effort as the home side looked to build on their advantage.
In the 20th minute Jags skipper James McShane headed past the upright after a spot of head tennis inside the Rothes box as the home side began to mount the pressure.
Another powerful run by MacPhee was only stopped by a posse of Rothes defenders on the half hour mark.
It took a good diving save by Euan Storrier in the Jags goal four minutes from the break to turn a Shane Harkness drive around the post.
Rothes were dealt a blow at the start of the second half when talismanic skipper Ross Logan didn’t reappear, his place in attack being taken by Kenzie Shepherd.
Rothes then enjoyed a much better 15-minute spell having switched to three-man attack in an effort to restore parity.
Harkness fired over from the edge of the box in the 69th minute as Rothes continued to push forward.
With quarter of an hour to go Strathspey substitute Dean Stewart should have made it 2-0 but he headed over when unchallenged six yards out.
Shortly after Jake Thomson’s floated cross landed the wrong side of the Jags’ upright.
Rothes won a free-kick 20 yards from goal with two minutes to go but Andy Skinner blazed high over and the last chance was gone for the visitors.
Rothes manager Ronnie Sharp said: “It was an early mistake which cost us and we need to deal with these situations better but after that they had something to hold on to.
“We didn’t play well in the last third, although I thought the young boys defended well.
“We had three 18-year-olds playing at the back and overall I thought they did really well.
“But going forward we lacked a cutting edge and we lost a bit of heart as well to be honest.”
Inverurie Locos 3-3 Fraserburgh
Goalkeeper Zack Ellis scored in the 94th minute as Inverurie Locos battled back three times to share the spoils with Fraserburgh.
While disappointed his team couldn’t extend their winning run to ten games, Locos manager Dean Donaldson was full of praise for his team, unchanged from their 1-0 midweek win against Brechin City.
He said: “It must have been a good game for the neutrals. I thought it was a great advert for the Highland League. A game played at full pace, I’m delighted with how my players performed.
“At the end our big man between the sticks has come up and at the time I wasn’t sure if he’d connected with his knee, head or whatever.
“We wouldn’t normally be celebrating a draw but it’s because of the manner it happened that we did.
“Zack will be disappointed about the first goal he conceded but over the course of the season he has dug us out far more times than he’s let us down.
“You run out of words to describe the team. Ten games unbeaten is not a record to be sniffed at.
“Their goals were due to our mistakes while two of our goals were unbelievable and of course Zack’s goal. A great game to watch.”
Right back Ross Aitken opened the scoring for the Bellslea side in 21 minutes, his right-foot volley from a cross on the left slipping through the fingers of Ellis and trickling low into the corner of the net.
The scores were levelled in 35 minutes when Mark Souter bulleted home a header from a Paul Coutts corner.
Six minutes after the restart Scott Barbour evaded his marker, ran forward and with his right foot clipped the ball high into the roof of the net.
But three minutes later Locos were all square again, a great ball from the right by Callum Duncan was finished on the half volley by substitute Daniel Agnew.
The fifth goal of the game was controversial.
The Broch’s Logan Watt found the net, the assistant referee had his flag up but was overruled by referee Owen Lawrence.
It looked like the points were heading to Fraserburgh but four minutes into added time Ellis provided the finishing touch at the end of a corner to earn a point.
Assistant manager James Duthie was deputising for Broch boss Mark Cowie, ruled out by flu.
He said: “When you get so close to winning it’s always disappointing to lose a goal as late as the 94th minute.
“Our lads put in a great shift, considering four or five of them shouldn’t have been on the park.
“They were on a combination of pain killers and strappings but as a team they dug in and showed real resilience every time Locos pegged us back.
“I can’t fault them and for me the key moment was when Sean Butcher was right in to net what for me would’ve been the killer fourth goal but their defender made a great block.
“Their goalkeeper will take all the plaudits but while it’s not like us to lose goals like that I couldn’t ask any more of them.”
Keith 0-1 Wick Academy
The game between Keith and Wick Academy had goal-less draw written all over it until a mistake by the Maroons’ on-loan goalkeeper Rodrigo Vitols allowed Kyle Henderson to extend his side’s recent unbeaten run to five games, including four wins.
Wick manager Gary Manson said: “I was delighted to get the win, and the clean sheet, it keeps our recent momentum going.
“We’ve got three games left, so I’ve challenged the boys to make it eight games unbeaten.
“Overall, the game was devoid of any real quality, quite scrappy, an end of season affair.
“I said to the boys at half-time, it looked like one goal was going to win it, and the goal itself came about from a mistake from their goalkeeper.
“Keith had a few half chances but nothing clear cut, though neither did we.
“It was a game of very few chances, but sometimes you just need to find a way to win a game.”
Midway through the first half, Vitols, on loan at Keith from Aberdeen, pulled off a fine save to deny dangerman Henderson.
Then, barely a minute into the second half a Cammy Wilson net-bound lob was brilliantly tipped round the post by Wick goalie Lewis Gallacher.
With nine minutes remaining, and the game heading for a goal-less draw, Vitols raced out of his goal, lost the ball on the edge of the box, and Henderson capitalised and raced in to smash it into the roof of the empty net to sew up the away win.
Keith manager Craig Ewen said: “It’s the time of the year when the pitch is fiery, and it was just a game where generally there wasn’t much quality on show from two teams that were fairly evenly matched.
“I thought early on that one goal would win it, and unfortunately Wick got it.
“It was very frustrating from our point of view, we had a couple of chances ourselves but at the same time our decision making in the final third just isn’t good enough.
“We don’t score enough goals, always taking an extra touch or pass.
“You have to do the basics really well, and sadly just now we’re not doing that well enough.”
Banks o’ Dee 1-0 Turriff United
Ten-man Banks o’ Dee completed a league double over Turriff United with a narrow 1-0 victory at Spain Park.
In a game devoid of goalmouth action Lachie MacLeod’s 51st minute header was enough to claim all three points for Dee, who were 3-0 winners when the sides met at the Haughs in October.
Liam Duell received a straight red card with 25 minutes to play for an off-the-ball incident involving Timi Fatona, but the Dee were undeterred by the numerical disadvantage and saw out the game with ease.
Dee co-manager Paul Lawson said: “We got what we deserved, for all the possession we had in the first half I was hoping to be ahead but today was about patience, that’s the message the team got at half time.
“It’s a great goal from our point of view; Magnus Watson has done an outstanding job to get the ball into the box and Lachie rose well to nod home.
“The red card made us shift our focus, the team had to dig in and they did really well to grind out the win.
“We need to watch the red card incident back, but the main thing is we credit the boys who saw the game out, they ran their socks off.”
Banks o’ Dee travel to Dudgeon Park on Saturday to face Brora Rangers and Lawson isn’t underestimating the challenge.
He said: “We’ll have a few returning players from injury and suspension, we know it’s a big game and we can’t shy away from that.
“We want to finish and season strongly, and we have a good opportunity to do so against Brora and then back here against Fraserburgh.”
Turriff boss Warren Cummings said: “Whilst I’m content with the effort and application, I felt we lacked quality with the ball, especially when we had the man advantage late on.
“I thought our back five played very well in the first half, our line was high, and we managed the game well against the wind. We hoped for more chances in the second half but that didn’t happen.
“We limited Banks o’ Dee to just one big chance which was good but ultimately, we didn’t deserve to take anything from today.
“When they went to 10 men we didn’t bring enough attacking intent to the game and that’s where my frustrations lie.”
Brechin City 2-1 Forres Mechanics
Brechin City kept up the pressure on league leaders Brora Rangers following a narrow 2-1 victory over Forres Mechanics at Glebe Park.
Mitch Taylor, who recently signed for City from Forfar Athletic was the City hero with a brace while Ryan McRitchie scored for Forres.
The opening stages of the match were fairly scrappy but City made the vital breakthrough nine minutes before half-time when Taylor blasted home a superb free-kick after he had been brought down at the edge of the box by Sam Nixon.
Forres upped their game immediately after the re-start and grabbed the equaliser the through McRitchie who headed home following a corner.
However Brechin regained the advantage just five minutes later when Taylor unleashed a thunderbolt from the left-hand side of the box to wrap up a vital three points for his side.
Brechin boss Ray McKinnon said: “It was a good response from the boys after Wednesday night’s defeat at Inverurie.
“I thought they were excellent in the first half, played some nice football and probably should have been more than a goal ahead at the break.
“However, the standards dropped for ten minutes into the second half which was disappointing and allowed Forres to get back into the match.
“That’s an issue we’ll have to address as it’s important to focus throughout the 90 minutes.
“The boys then worked hard to get back into the game and they could have scored another couple of goals to make things easier but the most important aspect was picking up the three points.”
Forres boss Steven MacDonald said: “Brechin were the better team in the first half and were worthy of their lead at the break.
“We told the players at half time that they could do a lot better as they hadn’t competed enough and we were delighted to get a positive reaction when Ryan McRitchie grabbed the equaliser which was deserved.
“I thought that we were the better side at that stage.
“However, we were unable to maintain that and Brechin deserved their victory.”
Buckie Thistle 1-1 Formartine United
First-half goals from Fin Allen and Julian Wade meant the points were shared between Buckie Thistle and Formartine United at Victoria Park.
Allen opened the scoring with an 18th minute header from a corner, before the impressive Wade levelled from close range from another corner nine minutes before the break.
Buckie manager Lewis Mackinnon felt his side had the chances to win the game.
He said: “We started the game well and were dominant in the first half an hour.
“We then lost a goal due to some slack play to give away a corner which they scored from.
“In the second half we didn’t really get going, but I think we edged it on chances.
“Fair play to their young goalie who made good saves from Lyall’s (Keir) free kick and Darryl’s (McHardy) header.
“It’s another point on the board, we remain unbeaten, so we take that and move on.”
The home side started well and Wade was well positioned to head off the line from McHardy’s near post header from an Andy MacAskill corner.
Allen put the Jags ahead on 18 minutes, powering a header low into the net from another MacAskill corner from the right.
Keir then broke clear after a mistake in the visitor’s defence, but his low 12-yard drive was well saved by Euan Macdonald.
Formartine equalised nine minutes before half time, Mark Ridgers could only punch the ball to the feet of Wade under pressure from Rhys Thomas, and Wade slammed home from point blank range.
Ridgers made an excellent save to deny Wade a second on 57 minutes, with Robert Ward firing the rebound over the crossbar.
Young goalkeeper Grant Corbett replaced the injured Macdonald at half time, and he saved well from Keir’s low free kick just beyond the hour mark.
Corbett then produced an even better stop from McHardy’s towering far post header to keep his side level.
Aaron Norris and McHardy both missed late chances to win it, but it ended with honours even on the afternoon.
United boss Stuart Anderson was happy with the performance and result.
He said: “I think coming to Buckie and getting a point isn’t a bad result with the run they’ve been on.
“If I’m being ultra critical, we need to take our chances, but Buckie could say the same thing.
“I need to mention our young goalkeeper Grant Corbett, who came on for his debut at half time. Not an easy game to come into and I thought he handled it really well.”
Nairn County 2-1 Huntly
Goals from Ben Barron and Calum Mackay saw Nairn County secure a 2-1 home win over Huntly.
Nairn interim manager Brian Macleod paid tributes to his players who ended a five-match winless run.
He said: “I’m pleased to get the win and pleased for the players who have put in a lot over the last few weeks.
“We were good out wide in the first half and caused Huntly problems and Ben (Barron) finished the penalty really well.
“We lost a goal and I wasn’t happy with how we started the second half.
“We created another where Andrew Greig did well again and Calum Mackay has put in a good header for the smallest guy on the pitch.
“We’ve been excellent defensively the last few games and I was confident when we got it to 2-1, we would be able to see the game out.”
Nairn were awarded a penalty after ten minutes when Kai Watson was penalised for holding Andrew Greig. Ben Barron powered low from the spot for his 14th of the season.
Huntly drew level after 37 minutes when Fraser Dingwall headed back towards his own goal and Brodie Allen took advantage of the defensive mix-up to make it four goals in three games.
Just before the break, Calum Brodie pulled off a great save to turn Scott Lisle’s shot round the post.
Nairn regained the lead in the 65th minute when a quick break upfield saw Andrew Greig cross from the left for Calum Mackay to head in his first goal for the club.
Huntly were close to pulling a goal back a minute later when Dylan MacLean pulled off a good stop to keep out Lewis Crosbie’s shot.
Huntly manager Colin Charlesworth said: “We didn’t start the game well and got a deserved equaliser going into the break.
“You give yourself a bit of battle going a goal down but we got the goal and had a couple of good chances.
“The second goal against the run of play sucks the life out the game and Nairn have got a lot of experience to see the game out.
“I thought we were huffing and puffing and it wasn’t to go happen for us after that.”
Clachnacuddin 1-2 Brora Rangers
Brora Rangers edged Clachnacuddin with a 2-1 victory in a feisty encounter at Grant Street Park to remain top of the Breedon Highland League.
Brora manager Steven Mackay praised experienced duo Shane Sutherland and Tony Dingwall for the part they played in what could be a crucial victory for the title challengers.
Mackay said “It was important we stayed calm in a game that could have been very frantic”.
“Shane showed his quality on the ball, as did Tony. You can tell they have played at a higher level.”
Clach manager Conor Gethins said: “The difference today was Tony Dingwall and Shane Sutherland.
“Their movement was excellent, their composure was excellent, that’s the bottom line.”
Despite the loss, Gethins is pleased with the huge strides made by his team this season.
They sit fifth in the league with two games still to play, having finished 17th last season.
Gethins said “The difference this year is the boys are believing in themselves.
“We are competing with Brora to the last minute, last season we didn’t see that.”
Clach broke the deadlock in the 27th minute when Josh Meekings’ long throw into the box was cleared as far as Troy Cooper whose left-footed volley found the bottom corner for his 15th goal of the season.
Brora equalised through a Matthew Wright header that crept in off the far post just 10 minutes after Clach had taken the lead.
The second half began in similar fashion, with Brora troubling Clach’s defence, mainly down the left-hand side where Craig Mackenzie and Alex Cooper were causing problems.
Brora got their reward for their efforts in the 64th minute when Mackenzie’s cross found Sutherland, who showed great strength and improvisation to see off Harry Nicolson and lob the ball over Logan Ross to give Brora the lead.
Cooper very nearly equalised for Clach towards the end of the match with another volley from inside the box, but his shot flashed over the bar.
Lossiemouth 1-0 Deveronvale
Lossiemouth picked up their first win since the end of January with a narrow 1-0 win against Deveronvale thanks to a goal from captain James Leslie.
Leslie proved the difference as a free kick after 52 minutes from Ross Morrison was headed home by the defender from ten yards with Vale looking for a foul as they claimed Jamie Maclellan had his shirt pulled as he tried to clear.
Vale manager Garry Wood was also adamant that referee Lewis Brown missed the foul and felt that it was a disappointing afternoon for his team.
He said: “We had a lot of the ball in the first half without creating clear-cut chances while the second half was more even and in tight games like this the first goal is crucial and we never got it.
“The award of the free kick which led to the goal was really disappointing as their player who scored pulled our defender’s shirt so it should have been disallowed.
“We changed the team around a bit after the poor performance at Buckie on Wednesday and in parts we did fine but there was not enough quality going into our final third.”
Lossiemouth manager Steve Porter was delighted to get a win.
He said: “Our defence gave Vale few opportunities during the game with Ryan Matheson, who had to play out of position at right back, doing really well while having Jared Kennedy back in the team gives us more stability.
“Having to change our keeper Stuart Knight due to injury at half time could have unsettled the defence but they dealt with it well. The injury to Saul Phimister was also disappointing as he has done well the last few games.
“It was pleasing to see James (Leslie) get the goal as well as a pane of glass got smashed in the warm up with a wayward shot and hit a committee member so the celebration was for him.
“We have been inconsistent so we hope with this result we can kick on and pick up a few more points.”
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