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Keith 4 Forres Mechanics 1: Keith boss praises best first half of reign


By Jonathan Clark

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KEITH manager Dean Donaldson said his side’s first-half display in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Forres Mechanics was as good as he has seen since taking over at Kynoch Park.

The Maroons lost 4-0 to Forres at Mosset Park in August but were three goals to the good at the break this time round as they exacted almost perfect revenge over their Moray rivals.

Cammy Keith celebrates making it 3-0 to Keith on the stroke of half-time. Picture: Becky Saunderson
Cammy Keith celebrates making it 3-0 to Keith on the stroke of half-time. Picture: Becky Saunderson

Donaldson said: “I go back to the game at Forres and we didn’t even lay a glove on them. I was really disappointed because that isn’t a true reflection of our team.

“In the first half this time, it was as good a performance as I have seen from a Keith side since I have come in. It was a really, really, really good performance.

“Collectively, we played really good football, played exactly the way I wanted to play and the boys worked exactly the way I wanted them to work – and they got their rewards for it.

“Watching that first half is as good a feeling as I’ve had at Keith. I hope the guys now see they can compete with the bigger teams.”

Keith took the lead on 16 minutes through James Brownie, who poked home after Forres failed to clear a long throw in from Marc Young.

And the Maroons doubled their advantage three minutes later through Craig Macaskill, after Cammy Keith's effort had been saved by Stuart Knight.

Forres had chances to get back into the game before half-time - including one which saw Stuart Soane slip after a ball into the box from Owen Paterson. From that slip, Keith broke and, after being played in by Macaskill, Cammy Keith slotted home the third to kill the game.

Michael Selfridge made it 4-0 just five minutes after the break, taking the ball in from the right and slotting in at the near post.

Mechanics pulled a goal back when Robbie Duncanson was fouled in the box and James Ross fired in from the spot on 70 minutes.

And they almost grabbed another when Ross hit the bar moments later - but it was to be Keith's afternoon as they moved within two points of Forres in the Highland League with two games in hand.

Donaldson added: “We got the fourth goal and that kind of killed the game as a contest.

“Charlie (Rowley) is not going to not fire his boys up at half-time so we knew that was going to come, but I didn’t want to change the way we played.

“I wanted to keep going the way we did, which didn’t really work because they went gung-ho with their attackers up top so that pushed us back a wee bit.

“But we managed the game well, where last week at Turriff we didn’t manage the game well. We played really well in the first half at Turriff and controlled the game but our naivety got the better of us.

“I asked them to learn from last week, and, to be fair to them, they have.”

Keith host Lossiemouth this weekend, with Forres at home to Fraserburgh.


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