An Allan Macphee strike was enough to earn Forres Mechanics a 1-0 win against Inverurie Locos at Mosste Park.
Forres survived a 10-minute second half onslaught from Locos to secure the points.
In the space of 10 frantic minutes, Locos hit the bar, forced an incredible save from Lee Herbert and had two shots cleared off the line, one of those by an Inverurie player.
Forres manager Steven MacDonald felt that his side deserved a bit of good fortune.
He said: “We lost a late goal against Nairn and again in the Brechin game so I think we deserved a wee bit of luck here.
“Plus, the way the boys played, in the first 20 minutes of the second half I thought they were excellent, Paul Brindle hit the post and we could have scored a couple more goals.
“You would expect Inverurie to throw everything at us after that, which they did, but overall we’re delighted to take all three points.”
Paul Brindle had an early half-chance for the home side but just as he was about to pull the trigger he was dispossessed by a timely tackle from James Connelly.
At the other end Mechanics keeper Lee Herbert just managed to palm away a dangerous cross from Robert Ward.
Forres started the second half strongly and four minutes in Paul Brindle hit the post with an eight yard angled drive but in the 56th minute the Can-Cans pressure paid off – Graham Fraser headed a deep corner back across goal and Macphee was on hand to knock the ball home from a couple of yards.
In the 72nd minute Herbert somehow got a hand to a Ross Still point-blank header to pull off a stunning save as Locos strove to find an equaliser.
Locos wente even closer three minutes later when Still’s net-bound drive hit his team-mate Kieran Shanks on the goal-line and the ball was diverted to safety.
The Forres goal was leading a charmed life and in the 78th minute Dale Wood was on the line to clear what looked like a certain goal from Shanks, and two minutes later Still saw his 12-yard drive cannon back off the face of the crossbar.
Locos manager Richard Hastings made no excuses and said: “Obviously it was frustrating creating all those chances one after another in the second half and not managing to take them.
“But I think ultimately we weren’t at the races, you’re more hoping that those chances go in and the most we deserved today was a draw.
“It was a really disappointing performance on a lot of different levels.”
A collection raised at the game to support those affected by the conflict in Ukraine raised £916.
Nairn County 4-0 Strathspey Thistle
Nairn County cruised to victory against Strathspey Thistle Jags at Station Park on Saturday afternoon.
County assistant manager Michael Rae was happy with his side’s performance.
He said: “The first half was a bit of a struggle as we tried to force things too quickly, though we did have the better possession.
“When we scored the second goal so early in the second half that settled the players down and after that they did what we asked them to do.”
Today’s 4-0 win over Strathspey Thistle saw a second successive clean sheet for Dylan Maclean 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/qbS1vhJIku
— Nairn County FC (@NairnCounty) March 5, 2022
The home side were ahead within five minutes when Angus Dey drilled home from six yards.
A minute after the restart County doubled their advantage when Seamus McConaghy fired low into the bottom corner from just inside the box.
County added another from the penalty spot in the 74th minute after a handball in the box, Tom MacLennan sending Robbie Donaldson the wrong way from 12 yards.
Ciaran Young completed the scoring with five minutes to go after he broke through to go one-on-one with Donaldson, the keeper saved his first effort but Young stabbed home the rebound from a tight angle.
Great performance from @NairnCounty
Controlled the game, 4-0 win on a decent day!
Credit to all the supporters who donated so generously towards sending items to Ukraine also 🇺🇦
I love my wee Highland town ❤
— Toby Michaels (@HighlanderToby) March 5, 2022
Disappointed Jags boss Charlie Brown said: “It was a really bad time for us to concede that second goal, so soon after half-time.
“We managed to steady the ship a bit in the first half after going a goal down after 10 minutes.
We got them in at half-time and set a few things up, but losing a second goal within 60 seconds of the restart was a killer for us.
“There is no doubt that Nairn County deserved their win as they were more comfortable in the second half while we just huffed and puffed and never really threatened them much after the break.”
