Unbeaten Fraserburgh are 10 points clear at the top of the Breedon Highland League with a 3-0 victory at Turriff United.
While nearest challengers Inverurie Locos slipped up with a 3-0 loss at Buckie Thistle, the Broch produced another controlled performance to win at The Haughs.
Manager Mark Cowie was full of praise for forward Scott Barbour who netted twice after drawing a blank in the midweek win over Lossiemouth.
He said: “Scott was a bit frustrated after the game on Wednesday so it was good for him to take his chances here.
“Scott puts a lot of pressure on himself but he doesn’t realise what he gives us on top of the goals he contributes.
“We played better in the second half with the pitch cutting up a bit due to the rain.
“I was happy with the performances of the players in the first half. They played the ball about well with Turriff sitting in a bit. They came out of their shells in the second and had a wee flurry to test us.
“It’s been a tough week for us and I’ve not had the chance to rotate due to injuries. The good news is some of our regulars are returning to fitness. We have another two big games before getting a well deserved break.”
Barbour opened the scoring in six minutes with an easy side-foot finish after Paul Young’s cut-back from the left was not properly cleared.
His second in 32 minutes was a gift, a short pass back by Dylan Stuart setting him up to round David Dey and roll the ball home.
Fraserburgh’s third goal arrived after 54 minutes with ex-Turriff right back Owen Cairns’ shot deflecting off Ethan Smith on its way into the net.
Young came close to adding a fourth late on before ref Robin Taylor turned down two penalty claims from the home team.
Turriff boss Dean Donaldson said: “It was a tough afternoon for my players.
“We lost an early goal and generally hadn’t started well. My players will always work hard but they lacked in quality this time as well as in composure on the ball.
“We couldn’t cope with their movement from wide positions.”
Brechin City 1-0 Huntly
Brechin City remain unbeaten at home in the Highland League with Max Kucheriavyi’s goal earning the Hedgemen victory against Huntly.
City Manager Andy Kirk was delighted with the response from his side following their midweek defeat against Inverurie Loco Works.
He said: “It was really important that we reacted after Wednesday. We knew it would be tense and the objective was ultimately to win the game and keep a clean sheet and we did that so we’ve got to be pleased with that side of things.
“Max (Kucheriavyi) is lucky – he’s hit the target from the penalty and the keeper has made a good save and it’s came back to him and we’re thankful he’s put the rebound away.”
FULL TIME | BRECHIN CITY 1-0 HUNTLY
City got back to winning ways this afternoon with the only goal of the game coming from Max Kucheriavyi – the Ukrainian converting the rebound following a missed penalty. pic.twitter.com/500MTBbEdA
— Brechin City FC (@BrechinCityFC) October 9, 2021
Brechin threatened early on when Marc Scott saw a header land on the roof of the net after 11 minutes.
Five minutes later, the returning Tom Ritchie was called upon to keep out a downward header from his Aberdeen teammate Jack Milne.
Two minutes into the second half, Brechin were awarded a penalty for a foul on Kucheriavyi. The 19-year-old from the Ukraine saw his spot kick parried by Ritchie but the on-loan St Johnstone player was quick to the rebound to slot in his third of the season.
Huntly almost equalised after 54 minutes when Jack MacIver delivered a corner into the box and Michael Clark’s header was kept out by Jack Wills.
Loan signing Ritchie was impressing in the Huntly goal, getting down to save against Murray Mackintosh midway through the half and minutes later he turned a Jamie Bain shot past the post after the winger’s effort looked to be bending into the top corner.
With four minutes remaining, Brechin were denied a second goal when Logan Johnstone cleared off the line from substitute Kieran Inglis.
Huntly manager Allan Hale was pleased with the performance fromm his side who showed a vast improvement from their defeat to Nairn County three days earlier.
He said: “We got a more positive performance.
“We’ve got a big belief in this group of players and we saw that with their tactical discipline throughout the 90 minutes which restricted a strong team. The frustration for me is that I feel we’ve missed an opportunity to take something from the game.”
