Culter and Dyce had to settle for a point apiece after a hard fought 2-2 McBookie.com Superleague draw at Crombie Park.
It was the visitors who struck first when Glen Donald headed home in the 13th minute from a corner, but the lead lasted less than 10 minutes when Elliot Duff’s clever ball found Ryan Smart – who made no mistake from close range.
That was how it stood at the break, but 10 minutes after the restart it was almost a carbon copy for the Ian Mair Park side, Donald notching his second with another header from corner kick.
That looked to have sealed the points for Dyce, but, deep into stoppage time, Duff was again the provider, squaring the ball across the face of the goal for Lewis Jopp to poke home for Culter.
Managers frustrated at dropping points
Neither manager was entirely happy with the way the game panned out.
Culter’s Lee Youngson said: “We’re disappointed about the result, and even more disappointed with the performance.
“We lacked quality in possession and we failed to do the basics at set plays for both Dyce goals, which is unlike us.
“The only positive was the endeavour and belief to keep going and get something from the game, which we’ve shown many times this season.
“The players have set high standards and on Saturday we never got near that simple as that.
“The players are as disappointed as anyone, and I’ve got no doubt we will get a good response in the coming weeks, starting on Saturday when we’re away to Hermes.”
Injuries mount for Dyce
Dyce boss Alfie Youngson had mixed feelings regarding his team’s performance.
He said: “Having not played for seven weeks, if you’d said before the game would I have taken a draw, the answer would probably have been yes, but, considering how the game went, I’m really disappointed and I felt the effort we put into it deserved more.
“A knee injury to Gordon Forsyth and a hamstring problem for Craig Mackie meant we had to make very early changes, which is not ideal, including bringing on young Lyall Keir – who has just turned 18 – but the boys were great and their application was excellent.
“Yes, there are little things we could do better, but that was the type of performance levels I’m looking for on a consistent basis. Week in, week out.”
Next up for Dyce is the visit of second bottom Maud at the weekend and Youngson knows it won’t be easy.
He said: “It’s another tough one, they’re fighting for their lives and, with a new management team in place, they’ll be hard to break down.
“However, if we maintain the standards we’ve set ourselves, we have every chance of achieving the outcome we’re looking for.”
