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Buckie Thistle clock up eighth red card of Highland League season but manager Lewis Mackinnon defends team and says there’s no discipline issue





Buckie Thistle plans to appeal his team’s latest red card and their manager says there’s no discipline problem at the club.

Darryl McHardy was sent off for the third time this season in Saturday’s 2-0 league defeat at Banks o’ Dee.

Darryl McHardy was sent off for the third time this season - but Buckie could appeal. Picture: Daniel Forsyth
Darryl McHardy was sent off for the third time this season - but Buckie could appeal. Picture: Daniel Forsyth

His dismissal came hard on the heels of Sam Pugh getting his marching orders in Wednesday’s agonising Highland League Cup loss to Fraserburgh.

It means Jags have had eight players seeing red this season, but Mackinnon says his team’s crime count isn’t as bad as statistics show.

He pointed to two of those dismissals being rescinded in the Scottish Cup defeat at Clydebank and the possibility of McHardy’s alleged elbowing offence at Spain park being wiped off the record.

“There is no discipline issue at Buckie Thistle,” Mackinnon insisted. “I think it's just an easy thing for fans to speak about when you're losing games.

“The two that got rescinded didn't count. So, straight away, you take two off that eight, you're down to six and if we successfully appeal Darryl’s, you're down to five.

Buckie Thistle’s Sam Pugh was dismissed in the midweek cup defeat to Fraserburgh. Picture: Daniel Forsyth
Buckie Thistle’s Sam Pugh was dismissed in the midweek cup defeat to Fraserburgh. Picture: Daniel Forsyth

“Then you have a look at the other five, you'll probably see a few of them weren’t a red card.

“You've also got to take into consideration, you get booked for a lot less now. That's just a fact, it’s the nature of the beast.

“I think if you look across the Highland League for the whole season, it wouldn't surprise me if the stats tell you there's been more red cards and yellow cards than ever.”

“You're further down the league, you're chasing games, you're taking risks, and you do tend to get more bookings.

The midfield enforcer, Sam Pugh, had a red card, the centre half gets a red card - that happens in football.

Buckie Thistle manager Lewis MacKinnon has defended his team’s red card record. Picture: Daniel Forsyth
Buckie Thistle manager Lewis MacKinnon has defended his team’s red card record. Picture: Daniel Forsyth

“The bar for bookings and red cards is a lot lower now. So, you do need to adapt but there’s no problem with our discipline.”

Pugh’s sending off 15 minutes from the end of Wednesday’s cup clash at home to Fraserburgh came at a crucial time, with the sides locked at 2-2 and both chasing a winner.

It was heading for penalties when Logan Watt pounced in the third minute of stoppage time to put Broch through.

“I thought we'd get the penalties, we were so close,” Mackinnon added. “Then the final goal was, we gave the ball away again, unnecessarily.

“We actually had a position there to go in the counter-attack, right at the death, and instead we ended up losing then.

Jags tried to bounce back from the pain of that loss at Banks o’ Dee in the league, but goals from Iain Vigurs and Liam Duell edged the Aberdonians to the three points.

“It was challenging to try and pick the boys up for Saturday. I had to pick myself up as well as the boys, it was tough.

“In the first half we were a bit flat and they got the goal from a set play, which is disappointing again.

“I don't think teams are having to work hard enough to score against us. I can count on one hand the amount of times where I could say ‘that's a good goal from the other team’. We could do better.

“I thought we came back into the game without troubling them too much. And then the second half was kind of a non-event for us. I don't think it was a great game of football.

Banks o’ Dee break away and get another goal. They defended better than us and they took their chances when they came along.

“So, overall, a very disappointing week for us.”

Mackinnon’s task is to end the three-game losing Jags run when Rothes pay a visit to Victoria Park on Saturday.

“This season, we have lost two or three games on the bounce but we do tend to react - so I fully expect a reaction on Saturday.

“The boys are professional athletes and they want to win. They want to get as many points as possible and they want to have a nice feeling on a Saturday evening.

“So, I'm very confident we'll get a reaction.”

Buckie have also announced the defender Joe McCabe has made a pre-contract agreement to join Banks o’ Dee next season.


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