Price turns down Brechin to stay at Elgin
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GAVIN Price turned down the chance to manage Brechin City this week so he can try and achieve his ambitions at Elgin City.
And the Borough Briggs manager almost marked his decision to stay with a comeback win against Edinburgh City on Saturday until a controversial late penalty spoiled his day.
Brchin parted company with boss Barry Smith this week and approached Elgin in an attempt to make Price his successor.
Price revealed he said no to his former club this morning, instead choosing to focus on unfinished business at Elgin.
It could have been a perfect day for the manager had his team hung on for victory against Edinburgh until a late call by ref David Lowe burst the party balloons.
“We should have three points and a great comeback, that’s what we should be talking about today,” said an angry Price after the match.
“I can’t legislate for the luck or on this occasion the referee who I think has got it dramatically wrong today.
“The boys were hugely disappointed in there and they shouldn’t be because they came back from 2-0 down and played outstanding in the second half.
“I think what I saw out there justified my decision during the week with the choices that I had.
I was offered the Brechin City job and I said no this morning.
“I think at the moment I’ve got a squad which is as good as I’ve seen here at Elgin. There’s so much there and I certainly didn;t want to walk away from that.
“I just feel we’re so close to having that season that we’ve all been after for so long.”
Elgin had the better of the first half hour, almost scoring after 40 seconds when away keeper Callum Antell’s miskick gave Kane Hester a sight of goal but he rolled the ball just wide.
Antell was soon substituted due to illness with 17-year-old Dean Beveridge coming on in his place.
Despite some good home openings, Price’s side went behind when Andy McDonald was penalised for a challenge on Scott Shepherd in the box and Craig Thomson netted from the spot.
It went from bad to worse for Elgin when a Shepherd shot spun wildly off Stephen Bronsky to completely wrong-foot home keeper Tom McHale and the ball landed in the net for 2-0.
Price said after the game he still believed his men could come back, and so they did.
Shane Sutherland weaved through to fire home on 55 minutes, and seven minutes later Kane Hester rolled home after new loan signing Matty Aitken seized upon a miskick by young Beveridge.
Elgin were in dreamland when Sutherland netted his second of the game and 11th of the season, also helped by a wicked deflection on 73 minutes.
The home side had several chances to kill off the contest and had a loud penalty claim rejected when Aitken was pole-axed on the edge of the area - one of three spot kick shouts made by the Black and Whites.
Instead they had another one given against them on 86 minutes, again for a McDonald challenge. This one looked highly debatable but Thomson was given the opportunity to score from the spot and he duly obliged.
Still there was time for Forfar loan boy Aitken to win it as he broke clean through but fired too close to keeper Beveridge and was denied the chance to be a debut hero.
Price, who had stern words with the referee during and after the game, reflected on two points dropped.
“There were two, possibly three penalty decisions which could have went our way,” he said. “I will need to look at it on the video.
“It would have been great if we had the VAR today.
“It does feel like an injustice, of course it does. Draws are not enough and when you’ve got six points from five games it is not enough.
“We’ve got three draws in there, when the way we’ve played we should have had more.
“It’s not a fair reflection when we’ve been beaten once, we deserve more but it will hopefully balance itself out over the season.”
Elgin: McHale, Wilson (Cooper 63), Spark, McDonald, Bronsky, Dingwall, Cameron, MacEwan (Aitken 54), Hester, Sutherland, Omar.
Subs: Willis, McGowan, Sopel, Scott, Dunn.
Edinburgh: Antell (Beveridge 6), Thomson, McIntyre, Balatoni, Laird (Court 79), Brown, Crane, Shepherd, Watson (Smith 64), Henderson, Harris.
Subs: Sinclair, Kane, Stewart, Dunn.
Ref: David Lowe
Att: 453
