Clachnacuddin 2 Buckie Thistle 3: Buckie boss Graeme Stewart praises hosts after last-ditch Jags win
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BUCKIE Thistle manager Graeme Stewart was less than impressed with his side’s performance in Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 away win over Clachnacuddin.
However, Stewart was quick to praise the Inverness side – who he is sure will pick up points against top sides this campaign.
“It was a mixture of them playing very well and us playing poorly,” he said. “I want to be careful not to just say that we were poor because they were good.
“There weren’t any players getting pass marks for us, I was disappointed.
“But, coming away from the game, I was more impressed with Clach than I was upset with my team.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing was getting the three points and we showed character to come from 2-1 down against a stuffy opposition.
“If Clach play how they did against us then they’ll take points off of top teams.
“They were outstanding at times, they were strong, aggressive and hurt us a couple of times so we have got to give them credit.”
Buckie took the lead in Saturday’s Highland League opener through Scott Adams 10 minutes before half-time.
However, goals from Gary Warren and Harry Hennem within two minutes of each other at the hour mark had Clach in front.
Darryl McHardy – making his full Buckie Thistle debut – equalised before the 70-minute mark and, with the game headed for a draw, the Jags were awarded a penalty kick in added time.
Callum Black was sent off for handling Kyle MacLeod’s goal-bound effort on the line and midfielder Andy MacAskill stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to bag all three points.
New boys Stuart Knight, Darryl McHardy, Lyall Keir and Jack MacIver all started for Buckie in the victory, while Dale Wood came on as a late substitute.
Stewart added: “Like the rest of the team, the new signings will have to do better and learn how to play with us and adapt to our system. I was impressed with them in pre-season but nobody got pass marks on Saturday so they have all got to do a little better.”
Buckie travel to Forfar to take on Dundee B at Station Park on Wednesday, before hosting Turriff United at Victoria Park on Saturday. The Jags team playing at Forfar will be much-changed from the Clach win.
“It’s a big game for us but one where we will mix up the squad and give an opportunity to players who were on the bench,” Stewart added.
“We will give Dundee B respect and put out a good team, but Turriff is a massive game and we can’t have players playing three games in a week.”
