Forres Mechanics manager Steven MacDonald says 6-1 defeat at leaders Brechin City was cruel on his injury-hit side and looks for winning finish against Wick Academy and Turriff United this week
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A 6-1 defeat may look like a thumping but on Saturday it was a cruel reflection of Forres Mechanics’ efforts at Brechin City.
So says Forres boss Steven MacDonald, who saw his team take the lead at Glebe Park and worry the league leaders until injuries took their toll on an already depleted Cans’ line-up.
On-loan Nairn County attacker Sam Gordon’s first goal in Forres colours had the visitors ahead inside ten minutes.
Brechin manager Gavin Price later told MacDonald he was concerned for his team’s title aspirations against a side that had already taken a point off them at Mosset Park this year.
But Mechanics lost striker Calum Frame to an ankle injury after half an hour and had no experienced players on the bench due to their growing casualty list.
Brechin then scored twice to claim a half time lead which MacDonald said was hard on his team.
When scorer Gordon also limped off with a hamstring pull early in the second half, Forres had two under-18 rookies on the field against the table toppers and could no longer put up a strong resistance.
With Brechin knowing the title chase with Buckie will almost certainly come down to goal difference, they pushed everyone forward in search of more goals and eventually clocked up a convincing scoreline.
“It’s strange to say after a 6-1 defeat but the boys did really well in the first half,” said MacDonald.
“We were still 1-0 up after half an hour when Calum Frame got injured, he turned the boy and rolled his ankle and couldn’t walk afterwards. From there we were down to the bare bones.
“We had two under-18s on the bench. We took on young Kieran (Hayllar) who had played 90 minutes for the under-18s on Alness on Friday night. It’s very difficult for him to make his debut in such circumstances.
“They went in 2-1 in front which I felt a bit of an injustice, I didn’t feel they deserved that because they weren’t really causing us any trouble and we were causing them trouble on the break.
“It went downhill in the second half after Sam Gordon did his hamstring at the start of the second half. It was really hard on the young boys but I’m sure it can be a good experience for them.
“The first half was really encouraging and we had a threat on the counter-attack and we were catching them out repeatedly. Even Gavin Price admitted he was panicking and he didn’t expect us to be competing so well until it fell away in the second half.
“They literally put ten men in our half, the centre half was more like a centre forward and they just piled everyone forward looking for more goals. It’s obvious that goal difference will come into play.”
Forres remain in the bottom three but can climb above Deveronvale if they pick up a point at home to Wick Academy tomorrow night.
A win, and another three points against Turriff United in their final fixture at Mosset Park on Saturday could see the Cans finish above Lossiemouth as well.
“It would be nice to get some wins to finish with, and give us a bit of positivity,” MacDonald said.
Frame’s season is over because of his injury and Gordon looks a doubt for both games. But Shaun Morrison, who missed the Brechin defeat because of the ‘flu, could be fit to return and on-loan Nairn youngster Ben Kelly was away last weekend but will be available to play the final two games.
