Conor O’Keefe was the Blue Toon hero with his double securing a first League One win of the season at the expense of newly-promoted Kelty Hearts at Balmoor.
Peterhead boss Jim McInally was delighted to see his side record a much-needed win, especially given they were forced to play the whole second half a man short after the dismissal of Chris Kisuka on the stroke of the interval.
A stunning goal from O’Keefe after 64 minutes was enough to give 10-man Peterhead the victory.
McInally said: “It is a brilliant three points, especially the way it happened.
“I thought in the first half we were really competitive.
“We could have played better but we were competitive and we had the wind at our backs.
“We scored a good goal and we never conceded much defensively.
“It was quite good for me to hear the opposition manager complaining that there were too many fouls because sometimes we’re accused of being a bit soft.
“I thought we were the opposite on the day, we were in their faces, and then just before half-time you think here we go again.”
The manager had no complaints about the sending off after Kisuka picked up a second yellow card.
He said: “I actually forgot about the first yellow to be honest, but he’s got to go for the second one. I think he was just frustrated at the way the game was going for him at the time.
“At the break, it’s one of those ones where you have a mountain to climb.
“We knew we were playing against the wind and confidence could obviously have taken a dent.
“Even losing the goal so early, you’re thinking are we going to crumble here.
“We just changes shape a bit, going to a 5-3-1 and we knew our pace could cause them trouble in behind, especially with the wind holding the ball up a wee bit and it worked a treat.”
With a strong wind at their backs, Peterhead started the brighter and Ryan Strachan was unlucky to see his effort bounce back off the post from a tight angle.
O’Keefe then opened the scoring when, after seeing his first effort blocked, he showed great awareness to lob Darren Jamieson in the Kelty goal to put the home side ahead.
The rest of the half proved to be a midfield battle with Kelty’s only effort of note a Kallum Higginbotham shot brilliantly blocked by Jason Brown.
Peterhead’s Kisuka was then sent off on the stroke of half time for his second yellow card.
With the man advantage Kelty were pushing for the equaliser and it duly came when Jamie Barjonas headed home the rebound after Nathan Austin clattered the bar with a 20-yard drive.
Peterhead were still looking dangerous on the break and went back into the lead with a terrific strike, O’Keefe again the scorer with a superb effort from 40 yards.
Full Time at Balmoor and Peterhead pick up their first three points of the season thanks to a brilliant second half performance and even more brilliant winner from Connor O’Keefe 🤩
Peterhead 2-1 Kelty Hearts
— Peterhead FC (@pfcofficial) September 17, 2022
Kelty had chances but a combination of the woodwork and great goalkeeping by Tom Ritchie gave Peterhead the win they deserved.
McInally added: “Conor nearly scored a wonderful goal before what was a fantastic goal.
“It was a pleasure to actually be here and see it.
“At training last week, he scored another world class goal and I said we need to transfer that onto the pitch in a game situation and he’s done it.
“He’s always had it in his locker, sometimes he doesn’t push himself enough but that talent’s been with him since he was a young kid.”