Lossiemouth fought back from a goal behind on two occasions to snatch an unlikely point against title hopefuls Inverurie Locos.
Substitute Fraser Forbes was the home hero with an 88th minute strike just after coming off the bench.
It made for a pleasing week for Lossie after their midweek 4-2 win against Nairn County in the North of Scotland Cup.
Lossiemouth manager Joe Russell said: “It was a tough game especially as we went a goal down.
“To then go 2-1 down and bring it back to 2-2 showed really good determination from the boys. I’m delighted for them.
“We also went a goal down in the North of Scotland Cup tie at Nairn on Wednesday night but we also showed a bit of spirit to go on and win that one.
“Once again they managed to dig deep and showed a bit of mental toughness and resilience.”
Locos took the lead when Neil Gauld ran onto a Jamie Michie ball over the top and fired a crisp drive low into the net.
Brodie Allen equalised when he cut inside and drilled a low left-foot 20-yarder into the bottom corner but Lossie’s joy was short-lived.
Locos restored their lead with Gauld’s second goal of the afternoon, this time it was Mark Souter who supplied the telling ball for Kieran Shanks to knock down into the striker’s path and he made no mistake.
With just two minutes to go Lossie levelled again when Ross Archibald crossed for Forbes to toe-poke the ball under the diving Andy Reid to secure the home side an unexpected point.
Locos manager Andy Low said: “It was definitely a case of two points dropped for us as you would expect a team like Locos to go to Lossiemouth and come back down the road with all three points.
“But you have go to earn it and I feel that perhaps Lossie worked harder to get this result than we did. They certainly deserved their point in the end.”
Clachnacuddin 2-5 Huntly
Huntly recorded an impressive away 5-2 over Clachnacuddin to move up to fifth.
It was a first league win for manager Allan Hale who praised his team’s attacking display.
He said: “We very clinical today and that was the difference between the two teams.
“Clach are a good possession-based team but we dealt with their threat well.
“Angus Grant was unfortunate not to get off the mark last week, we knew when we took him to the club, he was a goalscorer and is pivotal to our team in the way we play.
“I’m delighted for him and it’s unfortunate he didn’t get his hat-trick as he was a constant thorn in Clach’s side the whole game.”
New loan signing Marcus Goodall added to bench. More on that story to follow. Team news
#highlandleague pic.twitter.com/mTW5NKWmpI— Huntly Football Club (@huntlyfc) July 31, 2021
With under two minutes played, a quick break upfield saw Angus Grant net his first Huntly goal with a composed finish.
Grant turned provider after 16 minutes with a neat through ball to Greg Buchan and he made it two goals in as many appearances with a low drive.
Clach pulled one back midway through the first half when Liam Taylor played the ball in for James Anderson whose low effort crept into the far post.
Logan Johnstone set up the third in the 31st minute by picking out Grant with a cross and the former Turriff forward added his second from close range.
Huntly went into the break with a three goal cushion after Reece McKeown’s corner picked out Kyle Dalling and the defender headed home his first Highland league goal.
Clach reduced the deficit after the break when James Anderson fired home from the edge of the area.
Clachnacuddin team pic.twitter.com/xooJwUNIiE
— Huntly Football Club (@huntlyfc) July 31, 2021
In the 72nd minute, Huntly’s Caiden Imbert-Thomas struck his first goal in Highland League football after finding the bottom corner after loan signing Marcus Goodall had struck the bar
Clach manager Jordan MacDonald said: “Huntly have not had to work hard for their goals. I can accept teams coming and cutting us open. It wasn’t acceptable. To concede goals that early shows a lack of concentration.”
