Huntly boss Allan Hale paid tribute to striker Andy Hunter after his well-taken goal in the 1-1 draw with Inverurie Locos.
Hunter delivered a sumptuous finish in the second half, which went in off the crossbar and he celebrated finding the net against the club he was shown the door by earlier in the season.
He opened the scoring on 71 minutes in a nip-tuck affair, only for Ross Still to level the scores shortly afterwards.
“It was an excellent finish and he’s done that a couple of times since he’s been in the door,” said Hale.
“He’ s a very experienced player. He holds the ball up, deals with the centre-halves and allows our midfielders to get up and support the play.
“It was a tremendous goal at a time when Locos were starting to pin us back.”
There was some concern for Huntly in the second half, when goalkeeper Euan Storrier was injured in a worrying collision with Locos forward Robert Ward.
Storrier required a stretcher and medical attention after the game, with replacement Keith Robertshaw coming on for his first appearance for the Black and Golds after six years at the club.
“He wasn’t great,” Hale said of Storrier. “We waited on an ambulance to come for him – he was in the medical room pretty dazed and concussed.
“It looked a bit worrying when he stood up and fell down again. He was not aware of his surroundings very much but hopefully he gets checked out and it’s nothing serious.
“I’m proud of young Keith. He’s had to wait for his opportunity; he’s an excellent with a tremendous attitude. He wants to learn and wants to improve.
“He came in and collected the cross balls, his distribution was good. His communication with the back four was good and that will be the first of many appearances Keith will make in a Huntly shirt.”
Huntly created the better chances in the first period, with Jack MacIver twice coming close and Robbie Foster also lashing over.
Hunter whistled a shot over the bar just before his impeccable finish, while Locos responded when Calum Dingwall’s corner was headed home by Ross Still.
Nathan Meres had a penalty appeal turned down after he went down under Chris Hay’s challenge and Dingwall sent a shot agonisingly across the face of goal in stoppage-time as both sides settled for a point.
“I thought a point was fair,” added Hale. “On the balance of play, we had the better of the first half and Inverurie had the better of the second half.
“There weren’t many clear-cut chances in the game. The surface wasn’t the best after the dry weather and the wind didn’t make it a great spectacle.
“What it was was two competitive teams going toe-to-toe. Supporters in the ground got behind both sets of players because they could see a willingness from both teams to win the game.”
