Peterhead forward Rory McAllister is targeting more goals for the Blue Toon after scoring his 200th for the club in their 3-1 Scottish Cup second-round win over a spirited Clachnacuddin.
The 36-year-old, who is in his third spell at Balmoor, marked the milestone by netting a first-half penalty after Robert Ward’s opener against the Highland League strugglers.
Clach pulled a goal back before Kieran Shanks, Peterhead’s regular spot-kick taker, came off the bench in the second half to seal the League Two leaders’ progress in the competition.
McAllister was pleased to celebrate the landmark with a comfortable victory, but felt the Blue Toon could have performed better.
The former Cove Rangers attacker said: “I said a few weeks ago it will come when it comes, but it has come quite quickly so I am pleased.
“It is just good to get that off my back now and I can concentrate on scoring a few more and help the team do well.
“I have been joking with Shanks about the penalties, so I think I should be back on them now, but we will see what he says.
“I will probably continue letting him take the pens until he misses.”
McAllister continued: “It does not matter how you get through, but you maybe want to put on a better performance than we did and score a few more goals.
“When you look at their league table and our table, we are miles ahead of them and we should be scoring a few more, but it’s just about getting through especially when you see some of the other results.”
Gethins praises ‘superb’ Clach after his first game in charge
Even though League One Peterhead were lacklustre in the first period, they were always in control and went ahead in the 16th minute when Ward’s speculative shot deflected off the unlucky Ben Cormack to wrong-foot Dougie MacLennan.
Following a short free-kick, McAllister then won and converted a penalty in the 37th minute, but the Highland League Lilywhites, under new manager Conor Gethins for the first time, responded almost immediately through Callum Ferguson’s well-taken effort.
However, Peterhead, after making several substitutions, upped the tempo in the second half and when Shanks bulleted home a 75th-minute header from Andy McCarthy’s free-kick, there was no way back for Clach, but plenty of encouraging signs for Gethins.
The Clach manager said: “I thought the boys were superb.
“The last two training sessions they worked really hard and everything we spoke about and worked on came out.
“Our shape was amazing, and even in the last five minutes, the players were still bombing forward.
Clach have yet to register a Highland League win this season, but they were cheered on by a healthy travelling support, who stayed beyond the final whistle to applaud the players’ efforts.
Gethins added: “The Clach fans have always been amazing, even when I was playing against them – they gave me a hard time, but they were always good.
“But they showed what they are all about. They stood there at the end of the game and they waited and clapped us off the park.”
Conversation