Buckie Thistle leave it late to secure opening day win against Wick Academy
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BUCKIE Thistle needed a 92nd minute winner to secure a 2-1 win against a stubborn Wick Academy side at Victoria Park this afternoon.
The Jags have been tipped by many as potential Highland League champions this season having gone 25 games unbeaten at the end of last season.
It seemed as though they would make it 26 against a Wick side that could only name three substitutes on the bench - all three of which were trialists.
However, having survived an early Buckie blitz that saw Jack Murray and Scott Adams go close, the visitors weathered the storm and managed to reach the interval with the scores level.
The Jags should have taken the lead straight from the restart when a smart Andy MacAskill ball sent Sam Urquhart through on goal. However, the normally reliable front man could only fire straight into the arms of a grateful Graeme Williamson in the Scorries goal.
Graeme Stewart's side thought they had taken the lead moments later when a teasing Cohen Ramsay delivery set up Kevin Fraser for a tap-in at the near post. However, the home side's celebrations were cut short by the linesman's flag.
Buckie were punished for their wastefulness in front of goal when the visitors, in a rare foray forward, struck on the counter through Ryan Campbell after he had been teed up by Jack Halliday.
Stewart sent for Kyle MacLeod to try and swing the game back in his side's favour. And the decision bore fruit almost immediately when the target man showed the clinical edge his team mates had been lacking to sweep his side level from just inside the box.
The Jags were almost stunned late on when Gordon McNab rounded Balint Demus in the Buckie goal before seeing his effort cleared off the line by substitute Joe McCabe.
Buckie piled forward in search of a winner and nearly found it through Jack Murray's acrobatic overhead kick only for the centre back's effort to be cleared off the line.
With virtually the last kick of the game, the Jags were rewarded for their pressure when a goalmouth scramble allowed skipper Kevin Fraser in to prod home a dramatic last gasp winner.
Jags manager Graeme Stewart was pleased with his side's fighting spirit but admitted that he wasn't happy with the performance.
"The less said about the performance probably the better," Stewart said.
"We didn't play well. We can make some excuses with injuries and boys playing a lot of games because we looked a wee bit leggy especially in the second half but it wasn't good enough.
"We showed character to come back from one nil. They're a good team so to come back speaks volumes for my team and that's what we'll focus on. Not the negative stuff.
"We had to win. We have things we need to work on but we'll do that.
"We've got Formartine in the cup next and then Fraserburgh so ideally we would like to get some boys back in the next couple of weeks for that.
"We think we'll have Tom MacLennan and Max Barry back in the next two to three weeks and then maybe Ryan Fyffe in four or five and Sam Morrison in seven or eight so getting them back will be a massive boost.
"I think missing them showed today. They probably get in every other team in the league but we'll concentrate on the positives."
The Jags created a number of chances this afternoon despite the under-par performance with Stewart hoping to see a more clinical edge from his side going forward.
"No disrespect to them but if we get that early goal then we probably do win the game three or four nil," Stewart added.
"We gave them hope today. We had five or six good chances and on another day we would take three or four of them."
The Jags will take on Formartine United in the Aberdeenshire Cup on Wednesday night before hosting last season's champions Fraserburgh in the Highland League on Saturday.
