Buckie Thistle exit Aberdeenshire Shield as former keeper is Formartine's penalty shoot-out hero
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BUCKIE Thistle boss Graeme Stewart refused to criticise his team after their Aberdeenshire Shield exit in a penalty shoot-out.
Jags went out to Formartine United on spot kicks after their quarter-final tie at Victoria Park finished 0-0 after 90 minutes.
Ex-Buckie keeper Kevin Main came back to haunt his old team, saving the home side's first two kicks in the shoot-out as United won 4-2.
Stewart is not a big fan of the penalty kick finale "lottery" and felt his team deserved to go through.
"I’m not worried about losing on penalties," "We drew the game and we should have won the game so I'm happy about that.
"Even as a player I never used to get up or down about winning or losing on pens because it is just a complete lottery."
It was Buckie's second shootout defeat this season, as they were knocked out of the Aberdeenshire Cup on penalties by Fraserburgh in the semi-finals.
"It is disappointing to go out but there are heaps of positives to take out of the game. We created the best chances and probably should have won the game."
Stewart was pleased with the debut of former Brora forward Kyle Macleod and believes his new player can form a good strike partnership with Steven Ross.
"Kyle played well. He maybe ran out of steam a wee bit because he’s not been playing.
"He gave us a bit of physicality up front, he’s good in the air and him and Stevie worked well together. I think they will be a good partnership.
"You never just want to punt the ball long but we can now throw it up front when we have to. You would be expecting them to hold it in and do something with it, which is something we’ve not had for a while"
Main stopped Sam Urquhart and Sam Robertson's kicks in the shoot-out to become Formartine's hero and earn a semi-final trip to Fraserburgh next Wednesday.
Buckie will also face Broch in a crucial cup-tie this weekend. The clubs meet in the Highland League Cup quarter-finals, and it could be Buckie's best chance for silverware this term.
"That’s the most disappointing thing (about Jags' Shield defeat) because you’ve always got a chance of winning these cups.
"If we can beat Fraserburgh on Saturday it would be a great achievement because they’ve beat us a couple of times this season, but if we did win on Saturday and push on in this cup, it’s a great one to win.
"It’s the biggest cup in the Highland League so all the focus is on getting through this time."
New boy Macleod is likely to face Fraserburgh on Saturday, as he didn't play for previous club Brora in the first round of the competition.
Sam Morrison, Shaun Carroll and John McLeod are still out injured.
