Brora Rangers cruised to a 4-0 victory against a Rothes side who failed to trouble visiting keeper Joe Malin throughout the 90 minutes.
Brora boss Craig Campbell believes the early goal was key to his side’s victory at the Speysiders.
He said: “It was a pleasing day all-round for us, in fairness we got off to an unbelievable start when we scored a good goal within three minutes and that gave us a bit of a foothold in the game.
“I thought defensively we were very comfortable, albeit Rothes were a bit more of a threat at set-plays as they have a few big boys.
“But we’ve scored four goals and kept another clean sheet to make it five wins from five games.
“There’s obviously things we can improve on, I keep saying that, but when we look back to where we were this time last season I think it’s a big improvement.”
Early goal put Brora in control
Brora stunned Rothes in the fourth minute when the home defence allowed Andy Macrae to run on unchallenged from the left wing and side-foot the ball home from eight yards on the angle.
Brora were awarded a penalty in the 34th minute when Jordan Macrae was taken down in the box by Ryan McRitchie.
Tony Dingwall sent Sean McCarthy the wrong way from the spot.
Four minutes after the restart with the home defence in disarray Brora put the game beyond the home side.
Macrae had the simplest of tasks to slip the ball under the diving McCarthy for his second goal of the afternoon.
In the third minute of added time, Brora made it 4-0 with a flashing 15-yard drive from substitute Max Ewan.
Yesterday’s 4-0 win away to Rothes sees us return to top of the table!
A good Saturday’s work 😎 pic.twitter.com/xR1Z6X6Ce6
— Brora Rangers (@brorarangers) August 21, 2022
Rothes down to bare bones
Disappointed Rothes manager Ross Jack said: “At the first goal we were complaining about the throw-in going Brora’s way instead of just getting on with the game.
“Andy Macrae came into the six-yard box, spun and scored so it really was a disastrous start for us.
“We were beaten on the day by the better team and I think we were fortunate to keep the scoreline down to four as we never tested Joe Malin once.
“We really are struggling for bodies and the boys are running on empty at the moment unfortunately. We have a tough task ahead of us but we’re up for the fight.”
Lossie pick up their first win of the campaign
Lossiemouth collected their first three points of the season as they fought back from conceding an early spot kick in the second half to beat Wick Academy 2-1.
Lossiemouth had the better of the first half and missed some great chances but were made to rue these misses when a minute after the restart Jack Halliday was brought down in the box as he was through on goal by Ryan O’Halloran and Gordon MacNab made no mistake from the spot.
Wick were reduced to 10 men just before the hour when Ryan Campbell was alleged to have retaliated to a challenge by Lewis McAndrew as the ball went out of play on the goal line and referee Darren Munro showed the red card.
The Archibald brothers paired up to get Lossiemouth back level with 16 minutes remaining as Ross crossed for Liam to power home a 10 yard header before on-loan Buckie Thistle striker Adam MacLeod fired a cracking 16 yard effort low across Wick keeper Corey Paterson for the winner with five minutes remaining.
Russell’s delight at getting off the mark
Lossiemouth manager Joe Russell was glad to see his team get their season off and running with the victory.
He said: “We played some decent football in the first half and it was pretty frustrating to not go ahead and when we lost the goal early in the second half you wondered if it was not going to be our day again.
“However we kept playing good football and got our reward and it is pleasing as we have taken a lot of stick after our defeats to Buckie and Fraserburgh and it was great that Adam MacLeod got the winner.”
Manson unhappy at big decisions in the game
Wick player-manager Gary Manson was disappointed with not only his team’s performance but also decisions that went against his team during the game.
He said “We got our noses in front through the penalty and I don’t know how their player was not sent off as it was in my eyes a last man challenge which the referee tried to explain to me and that made it even more confusing.
“We then lost Ryan Campbell to the red card which I didn’t see and from then it was a battle.
“Overall it was a poor game with two teams bereft of any confidence and a fiery bobbly pitch didn’t help.
“It was not enjoyable to watch and I didn’t enjoy it any better when I came on but congratulations to Lossiemouth.”
