Nairn County 2 Huntly 0: Black and Golds go down to away defeat
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A GOOD first half performance wasn’t enough for Huntly as they went down to a 2-0 defeat at Nairn County on Saturday.
Just one point separated the two sides prior to kick-off, and the tight nature of the match reflected that as it was 0-0 at the break.
But late goals from Conor Gethins and Matthew Strachan gave the home side – backed by a bumper crowd who turned out to raise funds for late Nairn youngster Hamish Hey – all three points.
Huntly manager Allan Hale reflected on a game of two contrasting halves.
“First half we were excellent and the dominant team,” he said.
“The first 35 minutes especially we played the ball and built up a good tempo. We were also direct when the space was there.
“But when we have the momentum, it is about being purposeful with your work. We weren’t purposeful in the final third.
“That is why we lost the game, the first half we were on the front foot and most likely to score, but when we got into the forward areas we were wasteful.
“Second half we were poor, midfielders stopped getting a foot on the ball and stopped playing.
“The referee played his part in how stop start the second half it was.
“There weren’t any dirty challenges in the game, but the referee blew his whistle for every bit of contact there was, which is part of the game.
“We have conceded two goals from two errors. Conor Gethins came off the bench for only two minutes and scored, if that doesn’t teach the players anything then I don’t know.
“The second goal is a free header. The lack of reaction is the most disappointing aspect.There was time left and we had a chance to create opportunities and we never did that. We got what we deserved.”
In a dull first half at Station Park, only County’s Andrew Greig threatened the goalmouth with two chances before the break.
His first shot rattled the crossbar with his second before the break forcing a good save from Fraser Hobday in the Huntly nets.
Nairn screamed for a penalty just before half-time when Elgin City loanee Aidan Cruickshank went down under a challenge from Lyall Booth. But referee Billy Baxter deemed it a fair tackle.
Nairn had a great chance to score with 20 minutes remaining when Conor Gethins’ cross found Kenny McKenzie, whose header from close range rattled the cross bar.
The deadlock was broken when Gethins got on the end of Scott Davidson’s cross from the left wing away from danger and fired home from close range.
Minutes later Nairn doubled their advantage when Strachan nodded home a corner kick from close range to give them victory.
Nairn have leapfrogged Huntly in the table with the three points, with the Black and Golds now ninth.
Local rivals Inverurie Locos visit Christie Park on Saturday.
