Buckie Thistle hit back to defeat Lossiemouth in Highland League derby as manager Lewis MacKinnon sizes up ‘massive’ November in three cup competitions
Buckie Thistle kicked off a massive month with a comeback win in the Moray coast derby on Saturday.
Jags trailed a visiting Lossiemouth side for three quarters of the match at Victoria Park, as Brandon Hutcheson’s early effort had the Coasters in front.
It took two goals in a minute from Joe McCabe and Andy MacAskill to defeat a Lossie side currently looking for a new manager, with interim boss Gavin Price recently leaving.
“We knew it would be tough,” said Buckie manager Lewis MacKinnon. “The last time we faced them back in March we were on our league run and we got beat, so I knew how they would set up.
“They sat in and unfortunately we gave away a goal on the breakaway when we didn’t defend well.
“We stuck to the task, we kept moving the ball and I told the boys to be patient and the chances would arise, and not to panic. They did come. Their goalkeeper pulled off an unbelievable save from Darryl from a Jack MacIver free kick but the goals we scored were very good.”
Buckie now turn their attention to cup competitions with two big ties to contend with this week.
On Wednesday night they host Huntly in the first round of the Aberdeenshire Shield in a repeat of the recent Aberdeenshire Cup semi-final, which Huntly won 3-1.
Then on Saturday, Jags begin their Highland League Cup challenge with a home game against Clachnacuddin, who moved into the top five of the league with a 4-2 win over Forres Mechanics on Saturday.
“It’s a big month for us because it ends with the Scottish Cup game at Clydebank,” said MacKinnon.
“There’s a lot of points to be gained in the league and a lot of success in the cups if we go about it the right way. But we will take it one at a time.
“We’ve got Huntly on Wednesday and we were on the wrong end of a defeat to them in the Aberdeenshire Cup semi-final quite recently and we beat them in the league at their ground so it will be a tight game again.
“They are doing well and got a good result at Locos, we have been quite evenly matches this season and we know what each other is about so we will have to come up with a system, plan and a team that can come up with the win on Wednesday.
“It always has been an expectation at Buckie to win silverware every season. You go into every game wanting to win it, and that is how we will go about it this season in the league and cups and see how we can progress.
“We’ve got Clach in the League Cup and they are doing well this season so that will be another tough game. They came back well against Forres so we will be wary of them.
“But we are seeing it with every game this season, they are all tough. You don’t find any easy games in this league now, it is very competitive and teams are well set up, better structured and organised.”
Buckie are currently without top scorer Lyall Keir who got injured in the recent match against Nairn County and may be a month away from a comeback.
Defender Ryan Fyffe and midfielder Fraser Robertson are expected to return to training this week while Craig Cormack’s Highland League comeback with Jags proved to be short-lived and the attacker has decided to retire from the game due to persistent injury.
