Close
A late goal saw Locos defeated by Strathspey Thistle in a game of more drama than quality. Andrew MacLeod’s 89th minute free kick, that went in off the post, was a bitter blow to the Railwaymen, who had fought back from two goals down.
Kyle Irvine returned to the starting line up and Josh Buchan and Nathan Meres also came back into the team. Coming into the game in good form, the first half performance from Locos was strangely flat. What threat there was came from the visitors, whose positive attitude saw them close down three Irvine clearances in the opening period. The last of those ultimately resulted in a shot at goal but the keeper redeemed himself with an excellent save.
At the other end, Locos were getting into decent position but were unable to carve out any clear chances. The opening goal came shortly after the midway point of the half as Caelen Mutch was found on the right hand side of the area before sending a drive beyond Irvine.
Any hope Locos had of starting the second half on the front foot was extinguished when Taylor Chapman deflected a left wing cross into his own net to double Thistle’s advantage. It seemed a long way back for Locos but the game was turned on it’s head following a quadruple change made by Dean Donaldson as Mark Souter, Max Foster, Josh Bolton and Callum Duncan were introduced. It was Duncan who reduced arrears just 2 minutes later, tapping home from close range.
Locos’ tails were up now and it felt like they would get the next goal as they peppered the visitors’ penalty area. The leveller came with 16 minutes remaining. Robert Ward’s free kick from left caused problems and the ball was forced home. Bolton appeared to get the final touch but the referee credited the goal as another own goal, this one from visiting skipper James McShane.
The equaliser had felt inevitable and it looked like any winner would come from Locos until MacLeod’s intervention, the same player having earlier hit the woodwork. Locos were unhappy with the award of the free kick, making the outcome all the more disappointing.
This was the Grantown side’s first ever Highland League victory over Locos at the 31st attempt, and an indication of their improvement over the last 18 months. The timing of the winning goal was a blow for Locos but they can have few complaints having been second best for long periods of the game.
Donaldson felt his team weren’t competive for the first 60 minutes of the game and didn’t react well to being put under pressure by the visitors. He’ll be hoping for an improvement in Wednesday evening’s trip to Keith.
