PICTURES: Super second-half show seals Buckie Thistle derby win over Deveronvale ahead of title-deciding week
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
BUCKIE Thistle’s title charge continued with a 6-1 Fisherman’s Derby success over Deveronvale on Saturday.
The Jags fell behind to a Cameron Angus goal within 11 minutes, but were 2-1 ahead at half-time through Lyall Keir and a Jack Murray penalty before a superb second half performance sealed a big win.
Buckie manager Graeme Stewart said: “We conceded a horrible goal from our point of view and that puts us under pressure.
“But they reacted to it well and we got the two goals in the first half, which was crucial, getting the second just before half-time.
“But we deserved it, we dominated the game. Overall, I’m delighted with it. Now we move onto the final week and it’s going to be a difficult week.”
Buckie - who drew 0-0 with Deveronvale at Princess Royal Park at the end of March - looked like they could be in for another frustrating afternoon when Angus put Vale ahead after fine movement and a close-range finish.
But Lyall Keir - who came on in the first five minutes for the injured Josh Peters - nodded in from close range to level the scores on 20 minutes.
Just as a well-contested first period was drawing to a close, Vale keeper Sean McIntosh brought down Scott Adams in the box and Jack Murray calmly converted the penalty to give the Jags a 2-1 lead.
The second half was convincing from Buckie, with substitute Andy MacAskill making a big impact on proceedings.
He played in Joe McCabe on 64 minutes whose cutback was turned home by Keir from close range, despite the best efforts of a Vale defender on the line.
Jack MacIver - another substitute - hammered in the goal of the day on 82 minutes as his free-kick from 22 yards went in via the underside of the crossbar.
There was still time for more goals for the Jags, and they added two more in stoppage time. Keir turned provider to tee up Max Barry to slot home on 91 minutes, before MacIver’s deflected effort rounded off the scoring.
Stewart praised the quality of the subs he brought onto the park and looked forward to a double header with Strathspey.
The Jags take on the league’s bottom side at home tonight and then away on Wednesday.
“The boys on the bench are quality,” he said. “We have a good squad. We are delighted with the subs, but the whole team did well.
“We just want to win these games, but if we can score a few goals it’s going to help us.
“I didn’t have an eye on the goals tally before, but now we probably have to.
“We have to show Strathspey respect, they have won three games this season and been sticky against a few teams.
“We have had tough games against them. They will sit in and defend. We don’t have to be too greedy, just be composed.
“Hopefully our quality shows through and if it does we will score a few goals. But if the goals aren’t coming, let’s just make sure we win the game, that’s the most important thing.”
