Buckie Thistle’s difficult Highland League defence continues with home defeat to Forres Mechanics
The curse of the champions has left Buckie Thistle struggling in their Highland League title defence.
Jags crashed 2-1 at home to Forres Mechanics on Saturday, their sixth league loss in 13 fixtures so far.
The reigning champs didn’t lose six league matches in an entire campaign in each of the past three seasons.
Buckie lost five out of 34 matches when they won the league last term, and just three in each of the two previous campaigns when they finished runners-up to Brechin City and Fraserburgh.
Their quest to win a first cup competition in eight years faltered in midweek when they lost 3-1 at Huntly in the semi-finals of the Aberdeenshire Cup.
It has been a baptism of fire for manager Lewis Mackinnon, who took over from Graeme Stewart in the summer.
He immediately lost star players Jack Murray to Elgin City and Max Barry to Peterhead, both of whom have been revelling in the SPFL ranks since their moves.
Josh Peters’ header on Saturday cancelled out Calum Frame’s Forres opener but Matty Jamieson got a second half winner for the Mosset Park men.
Jags will aim to bounce back when they host Nairn County on Wednesday night, before making the journey to Formartine United on Saturday.
