PICTURES: Buckie Thistle open up Highland League title race with important win over champions Brechin City and manager Graeme Stewart praises Jags’ character in a must-win match
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Buckie Thistle are right back in the Highland League title hunt, but manager Graeme Stewart feels his men should have it won by now.
Jags came from behind to defeat leaders Brechin City 2-1 at Victoria Park on Wednesday night, a result Stewart feels they had to achieve to keep their hopes alive.
WATCH: Interview with Buckie goal hero Jack Murray
A succession of postponements due to drainage issues on their pitch have left Buckie with a backlog of fixtures, inevitably leading to some tired legs in their squad.
The win over Brechin was Jags’ latest in an almost unblemished run of results against their fellow challengers. On the flip side, defeat to bottom six sides like Clach, Lossiemouth and Wick Academy have hampered the hoops’ championship bid.
Stewart feels his team will have to win all of their remaining seven matches if they are to pip Brechin to the league crown.
“If we wanted to win the league, this probably was must-win. A draw would have given a slim chance but a win puts us right back in it,” he said.
“Now, if we win all of our games we’ve got a right good chance. If we don’t, we don’t. That’s the target now, we’ve got to win them all and we are capable of doing it but we have said that after every Wednesday performance, so let’s hope we start winning on a Saturday now.”
Jags visit another bottom six team in Deveronvale this weekend, a match which their manager sees as an even more difficult one than the Brechin one.
He tried to put his team’s surprise defeats in recent weeks into context, and said having so many games in a short space of time would always take its toll on the squad.
“Trust me, it doesn’t come down to attitude or commitment or desire (losing to bottom six teams).
“I think in another season if our pitch was alright, the league would have been sewn up by now. I take my hats off to the boys, I think they have been a credit to themselves and if other people don’t understand the circumstances behind what has gone on with the pitch and playing three games a week thinking it doesn’t affect them, then that is their problem.
“I think we have been outstanding.
“I could say it’s down to playing three games a week. That is one part of it, but we have been unlucky. When you look back on those three games, I would say nine times out of ten we win all three of them if you go back and play them.
“We battered Clach, we battered Lossiemouth and Wick in the first half, but we don’t score two or three goals and the second half catches up on us.”
Jags’ shock losses, and a recent draw at home to Inverurie Locos, have cost them valuable points and attracted criticism from fans at games and on social media.
Stewart is urging people to take all of the club’s circumstances into account, highlighting the strain placed on a part-time club having to play so many matches late in their season.
He also revealed that Buckie haven’t had a single training session this year, because they have been playing every Saturday and Wednesday.
“We’ve had two and a half days rest and we end up getting beat (in the next match at Wick). It’s not rocket science and some people need to take a chill pill.
“These things happen, you’ve got people working full-time, 40 or 50 hours a week, travelling to Wick and then playing again on a Wednesday. So I will stick up for the boys.
“I’ve seen how much they’ve put in, we have not trained together in four months so what do you expect? We are flogging goals because we’re not working on our defence.
“We need to give the boys a break. To be where they are is unbelievable.”
Buckie have now completed a league double over the champions, having lost both encounters with Brechin last season.
Stewart rates their latest success as the pinnacle of their campaign so far.
They trailed at the break to a Ewan Loudon strike on 27 minutes. Josh Peters and Jack MacIver passed up two golden chances for the home side, buit Brechin were spurred on by their goal and could have added to their tally.
The second half was a different story. Jags were completely dominant, and levelled on 57 minutes thanks to a brilliant low 25-yard effort from Max Barry.
Lyall Keir side-footed an effort off the post midway through the half, but the winner arrived when Jack Murray’s speculative effort took a wicked deflection and spun in on 78 minutes.
“It was a great first half and I said they were fantastic,” Stewart claimed. “We controlled the game against a team that’s top of the league and champions.
“It kind of summed up our season so far. A lack of composure in both boxes, a mistake from us and not taking our chances. I told them to rectify it which they did so I’m over the moon.
“The performance was outstanding but the result was the most important thing and we got there in the end. In terms of performance and character that’s as good as it gets for us this season.
“In the head-to-heads against the top four teams, our record is unbelievable. We just need to move on and make sure that we win on Saturday now, which is probably going to be more difficult.”
