Buckie Thistle overtake Fraserburgh at Highland League summit but goal hero Sam Pugh says on-form Jags have plenty work to do in title tussle
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SAM Pugh said Buckie Thistle learned from their last meeting with Fraserburgh when they dethroned the Highland League leaders on their own patch.
The former Keith man scored and provided an assist in Jags crucial 3-1 win over previous leaders Fraserburgh on Wednesday night.
Buckie were denied victory against Broch earlier in the season by a last-gasp penalty equaliser and Pugh said they were determined not to let the same happen in midweek.
The Green and Whites did what they did in the first meeting between the sides by overhauling a half time deficit to lead going into the closing stages of the game.
Pugh’s 85th minute strike got Jags’ noses in front at Bellslea and instead of letting Broch stage a fightback, Buckie kept going forward and clinched victory with Andy MacAskill’s third goal.
“Last time probably was in the back of our minds, but if anything, it was motivation to make sure that didn’t happen again,” said Pugh.
“Once Andy grabbed the third goal, we could relax a bit more then as the 90 minutes was almost up.”
Despite Buckie’s first half dominance, a Jack Murray foul conceded a penalty before half time and Paul Campbell shot Fraserburgh into a fortunate interval lead from the spot.
Sam Urquhart’s 21st of the season levelled matters after a Pugh thunderbolt had smacked off the bar, then Pugh himself netted from a corner by MacAskill, who put the cherry on the icing at the end.
“I didn’t think my shot would come off that clean, being on my left foot. I quickly went from being gutted to delighted when I seen Sam knock in the rebound – it didn’t matter to me who scored, I was just glad we got ourselves back into the game,” said Pugh.
“Then Andy swung in the corner, and he put enough pace on the ball that I just had to guide it on. I’ve only got a few goals this year but that was my favourite so far.
“I was just delighted, not for me but everyone involved. I think it was just what we deserved, as we dominated from start to finish.”
Fraserburgh had been reduced to ten men before Buckie’s two late goals, with captain Willie West dismissed for two bookable offences.
The Buchan side had led the league for the past five months since Jags were top on goal difference in mid-August after both clubs won their opening four league games of the campaign.
But a run of 13 consecutive league victories has taken Buckie from outsiders in the title chase to firmly in the mix - and potentially the new favourites.
Buckie Thistle's winning Highland League run:
October 6: Buckie Thistle 3 Forres Mechanics 1
October 9: Buckie Thistle 3 Inverurie Locos 0
October 13: Buckie Thistle 9 Fort William 1
October 16: Huntly 0 Buckie Thistle 2
November 6: Strathspey Thistle 0 Buckie Thistle 6
November 20: Buckie Thistle 4 Clachnacuddin 1
November 24: Buckie Thistle 4 Nairn County 1
November 27: Lossiemouth 0 Buckie Thistle 5
December 11: Buckie Thistle 2 Turriff United 0
January 15: Buckie Thistle 4 Formartine United 0
January 22: Fort William 1 Buckie Thistle 4 (at Buckie)
February 5: Nairn County 1 Buckie Thistle 4
February 9: Fraserburgh 1 Buckie Thistle 3
Pugh insists there’s plenty work to be done, with another clash against a fellow contender coming up tomorrow.
Buckie play host to Brechin, who were the last team to take points off them back on October 2 with a 3-2 success at Glebe Park.
“Saturday is massive, even more so now as we don’t want to put our hard work on Wednesday to waste by dropping points,” said Pugh.
“I wouldn’t go as far as saying anyone is out of the race yet, but Saturday is an opportunity to put ourselves in a stronger position.
“We’ll back ourselves to go the whole way but we’re a level-headed group, we know that there’s a long way to go yet. It's cliched but the focus really is one game at a time.
“We’ve got a good group of boys, we won’t let ourselves get carried away or to think the jobs done yet.
“There’s a long way to go still and taking each game as it comes has allowed us to get to this point without putting pressure on ourselves by thinking of however many games we’ve won on the bounce.”
