Could Leslie's slice of luck signal lift-off for Lossiemouth's Highland League season?
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A FIRST ever goal for Lossiemouth by defender James Leslie could be the catalyst to give the Coasters' season a kick-start.
It earned a 1-1 draw against high-flying Brora Rangers and ended Lossie's losing start to the season after four consecutive defeats.
Leslie (22) has been at the Grant Park club since he was 18, so he was understandably delighted to break his scoring duck.
He got a stroke of good fortune when goalkeeper Logan Ross misjudged his cross into the box and it flew over his head into the net.
“That was my first goal for Lossiemouth, so I will take that. It has taken me long enough to get it. I just tried to put the ball into a dangerous area,” he admitted.
“We have been unlucky in a few games so to get off the mark is great.
“We have played quite a few of the top five teams, Fraserburgh, Formartine and Brora, so we have had a tough start.
“We have got to keep playing the way we are trying to play, keep passing the ball about and keep our shape.
“I will just try and do my defending first and see if I can get another goal.”
Lossie had trailed from the 19th minute when Andy Macrae bundled home after the home defence failed to clear their lines.
Brora had lots of possession and dominated the first half but Lossie grew into the game and Leslie’s goal 20 minutes from time was no more than they deserved.
They were handed a golden opportunity to grab the win when Jordan Macrae was shown a second yellow card with five minutes of normal time remaining.
And they almost grabbed the win in added time when sub Fraser Forbes fired over the bar after a great move involving Ryan Farquhar and Ross Morrison.
Manager Frank McGettrick was delighted with the point.
“We started with a bit of a different formation which didn’t work and we gifted them a goal.
“We changed the formation after half an hour and it seemed to work.
“I know they got a man sent off in the last 10 minutes but we thoroughly deserved the point.
“We defended well and created chances. We could have nicked it with a wee bit more composure.
“I am really happy for the boys because we have been persevering with getting that belief in themselves."
Lossie will look to build on that positive result when they welcome Strathspey Thistle to Grant Park on Saturday in the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup.
