Buckie Thistle grind out win against Forres Mechanics to stay top of the Breedon Highland League with 100% record
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TOP of the league with four wins out of four, Buckie Thistle maintained their 100 per cent start to the season on Wednesday night but they had to do it the hard way against Forres Mechanics.
The Jags were shell-shocked inside two minutes when Dylan Lawrence blasted the visitors ahead at Victoria Park.
They struggled to break down a solid Mechanics defence – Max Barry did rattle the crossbar with a great effort – and Forres could have added a second themselves when Lawrence flashed another shot wide.
At half-time, Buckie looked to be in a little bit of trouble, however, they stepped on the gas after the break and relentless pressure finally told on Forres as the home side ran out 3-1 winners.
A raft of Jags substitutions made the difference and within 10 minutes of entering the fray, striker Josh Peters levelled with a neatly taken goal after rounding former Buckie keeper Lee Herbert to slot home.
Peters put title-chasing Buckie ahead with 14 minutes remaining after Cohen Ramsay set him up to blast the ball high into the net from around eight yards.
And Graeme Stewart's side completed the comeback and sealed the points when a free-kick into the box fell to Darryl McHardy and he teed up Max Barry to slide the ball home from close range.
Stewart admitted his side didn't play well but praised their character in the second half.
"I thought they (Forres) were excellent. They were good both halves, pressing, brave and leaving three up front at our corners. They played a 4-4-2 diamond which I didn't expect, which surprised us and caused the goal.
"We should have taken one or two chances in the first half. Second half we made three changes early, which we had to because we have a big game on Saturday.
"We need to get Josh fully fit but he is still clinical. I was delighted with all the subs. Overall, I don't think we played well but we got the win.
"We have got to start better. No team is good enough to turn up and think they are going to win. It was disappointing the way we started but the character was there again.
"Nothing to be overly concerned about but there are definitely things to improve on. If we are to have any aspirations this season we need to win games like this."
