Perseverance and patience are going to be key words Keith fans will have to become familiar with for a quite a spell yet I’m afraid. The Maroons fell to a seventh successive Highland League defeat at Bellslea on Saturday when they paid the penalty for succumbing to three spot kick awards.
The scoreline could have been more than the final 4-1, but Keith, who have a rich history of fine goalies, had current number one Daniel Bell to thank for a string of fine saves.
Getting a goal on the stroke of half-time through Stuart Massie, a rarity in itself as only Huntly have netted fewer goals this season, probably had those of a Maroon persuasion in the Bellslea crowd, dreaming of a possible comeback. Unfortunately, with Guy Fawkes night almost upon us, the second half turned out to be rather a damp squib, with ‘Broch being completely in control.
Gordon Winton’s side plays some good passing football, but the lack of bulging the old onion bag at one end hasn’t been helped by the recent persistence to commit defensive suicide, with the result that only five other sides have conceded more.
The squad has plenty of young fresh, eager talent, but a bit of experience in key areas would not go amiss – something I believe the management team is trying to address.
Certainly a bit more support in the firing line for experienced goal-getter Michael Ewen would probably see the ‘goals for’ column begin to increase. Against ‘Broch I don’t think their goalie had a direct save during the entire second half.
The problem of course is that with a string of reverses, so comes a drop in confidence, but with everybody pulling together that elusive win will surely come, so of course it’s back to those two words at the beginning of the article.
If you are interested in writing about your Highland League club, email andrew.clark@ajl.co.uk