Keith 0 Brora Rangers 4: Tough Highland League opener for Maroons at Kynoch Park
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This was always going to be a tough opening fixture for Keith and so it proved, despite Craig Reid earning the man of the match accolades for at least half a dozen top saves, including a superb penalty stop.
The Maroons found Brora a tough nut to crack, even with the onlooking 1979-80 championship side cheering them on – that great team visiting Kynoch Park for a special reunion.
Reid set his stall out in the opening 25 minutes pulling off three fine saves. He then thwarted Tony Dingwall twice, the second save seeing him back pedalling quickly to brilliantly tip the striker’s lob over the bar.
Just as it looked like being a goal-less first half Ryan Robertson pulled Dingwall down inside the penalty area in stoppage time and Dale Gillespie made no mistake with the resultant award.
If that was a setback, they suffered a killer blow inside a minute of the turnaround when Reid parried a shot only for Jordan Macrae to pounce and slam home the loose ball.
Reid came into his own again to deny Ross Gunn before Joe Malin brilliantly tipped over a net bound Przemyslaw Nawrocki header.
A minute later Andrew Macrae, looking suspiciously offside raced through to round Reid and slam home.
Keith stuck manfully to the task though and in the 84th minute Malin superbly parried James Brownie’s netbound head flick.
Three minutes later Brora earned another spot kick when ex-Maroons loanee Gregor Macdonald was taken down inside the area, but this time Reid was equal to the task and denied Gillespie with a terrific save.
Brora had the last word though in the dying seconds when Andrew Macrae fired in an angled drive from the right wing.
Keith team: Reid, Emmett, Yeats, Hutcheon, Robertson, Yunus, Ironside (Killoh 70), Brownie, Nawrocki (McKeown 78), Wilson (Tough 62), Andrews. Subs: Collin, Abdulkarim, Irvine.
