Deveronvale 1 Buckie Thistle 2: Jags go to within one point of league leaders
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BUCKIE Thistle cut the gap on Highland League leaders Brechin to one point with a hard fought victory over a determined Deveronvale outfit.
Marcus Goodall’s late strike under the lights in their festive derby at Princess Royal Park ensured the Jags claimed all three points with a 2-1 win.
A fiery encounter in front of the Banff club’s biggest gate of the season provided a number of talking points. Vale were convinced they were denied a stonewall penalty midway through the second half while a scything challenge on Matt Jamieson by Sam Pugh saw both benches clash. The incident saw referee Kevin Buchanan brandish a red card for Vale manager Craig Stewart while Buckie manager Graeme Stewart received a yellow.
Pugh was lucky to only see yellow while other players were booked for getting involved.
Both teams started well with Vale determined to gain revenge for their big defeat in the Aberdeenshire Shield recently.
Andy MacAskill tried his luck with a couple of efforts which Sean McIntosh dealt with but the Vale keeper could do nothing to stop the visitors forging ahead ten minutes before half time.
MacAskill swung in a free kick which was handled by Harry Noble as he fell attempting to clear the ball in the box and the Buckie playmaker stepped forward to open the scoring from the spot.
Vale were level within four minutes as Noble’s delightful corner kick played into the near post was pushed into the back of the net by Jags keeper Balint Demus.
Innes McKay was denied by a superb Jack Murray challenge six yards from goal at the start of the second half before Vale claimed for a penalty as Demus rushed from his goal to pull Jamieson down in the box but nothing was given.
Scott Adams had a great opportunity to put the Jags ahead but with only McIntosh to beat he decided to square the ball and the chance went a begging.
Pugh’s challenge on Jamieson then saw both sides clash and after the action resumed Murray saw a free kick from the edge of the box hit the post.
The Jags grabbed a winner with eight minutes remaining as McIntosh denied Marcus Goodall on two occasions but the ball fell kindly for the Buckie player who found the target via the post from ten yards to seal the points.
Buckie manager Graeme Stewart was delighted to get the victory but added that his team didn’t play well.
He said: “We had the majority of the chances but we know we can play a lot better than we did but we did have seven players missing but we battled and won the challenges and it shows the spirit we have in the camp.
“The pitch played its part in making the game a real battle as it wasn’t good and didn’t suit our style of play but fair play to Vale as they were excellent, worked hard and gave it everything which is what you expect in a derby.
“We were missing seven players on the night who would be starters but this was still a good Buckie team and considering we haven’t played for three weeks I am delighted to get the win and with Brechin dropping points we need to capitalise when that happens and we now need to look forward to our next game and make sure we win to keep the pressure on.”
Vale manager Craig Stewart was less than impressed with the performance of the officials but praised his team who he felt gave their all.
He said “We got no luck on the night with the game turning on a couple of massive decisions which went against us with their penalty looking very soft while we were denied a stonewall penalty as their keeper brought Matt Jamieson to the ground in the box.
“Everyone in the ground thought it was a penalty apart from the referee which was really disappointing while a horrendous challenge also on Jamieson should have seen a red card being shown but for some reason wasn’t.
“I can’t fault the lads who were magnificent for the ninety minutes and we just shut off a little bit for their second goal not tracking the runner but the result is really hard to take and Buckie know they have had to work hard to get the win.
The two sides will do it all again at Victoria Park next Tuesday.
