After last weekend’s heroics against Fraserburgh, Brora Rangers brought Turriff United back down to earth as they hit four goals without reply with a convincing performance.
Gregor Macdonald grabbed a hat trick as Brora dictated play from start to finish with home keeper David Dey having to produce a couple of outstanding stops including a penalty save to deny the visitors adding to their tally.
Brora assistant Josh Meekings was full of praise for his side’s display.
He said: “The boys gave us everything that we asked from them before the game as things we had worked on in training through the week came off with the added bonus of having a clean sheet.
“The boys worked their socks off on a heavy pitch and their are some tired legs in the dressing room but we managed the game well and had it not been for their keeper we would have had a few more goals, but we are delighted with the four we scored.
“Gregor Macdonald was fantastic with his three goals and he has that ability in his locker so we want to see more of it from him as we look to finish the season taking care of our own business and see how things turn out.”
— Turriff United Football Club (@TurriffUnitedFC) March 4, 2023
Brora saw Dey save a Dale Gillespie spot kick after eight minutes, but Ally Sutherland grabbed the opener with a fine curling 20-yard finish five minutes later.
United had a couple of chances to level, but MacDonald put Brora three ahead with two goals in a five-minute spell. He produced a precise finish from 14 yards after 33 minutes before Max Ewen set him up for his second of the afternoon with a close-range shot.
MacDonald completed his treble with a 20-yard drive just after the hour mark to leave Turriff manager Dean Donaldson with no complaints about the result.
Next Up on Wednesday! pic.twitter.com/bwTXj06S56
— Brora Rangers (@brorarangers) March 5, 2023
He said: “Brora fully deserved their win as their quality shone through.
“We can’t have five or six boys off the pace against any team and to be honest I am glad that we got out of there with only losing the four goals as we also had to play the last 10 minutes with Max Foster having to come off.
“We had a couple of chances to score when it was just 1-0 when Reece McKeown could have scored
“I took him off at half time, but it was not down to his performance, it was to change to a different formation to give us more legs in midfield.
“You have to earn anything you get in football and it was really disappointing.”
Wick Academy 0-6 Fraserburgh
Mark Cowie insists there’s no prospect of Fraserburgh taking their foot off the gas this season after they beat Wick Academy 6-0.
After defeat by Turriff United, the Broch got back to winning ways at Harmsworth Park.
Manager Cowie admits their title challenge is over, but he’s still looking for a strong finish to the campaign.
He said: “I said to the players before the game we’re not at a club which sees things out or looks forward to next season.
“We’ve got eight games to go and we need to win as many as we can to keep us at the right end of the table.
“We’re in a fight to see how high we can finish in the top five and we’ll give it a go.
“It was the response we were looking for. I don’t think we were worse last week, but the difference was we were clinical in both boxes.
With a header from 6 yards into the bottom left corner of the net after Ryan Cowie’s left footed corner to him to make it 1-0 Broch (1) #theBroch pic.twitter.com/sxYv3K904u
— Fraserburgh FC (@FraserburghFC) March 4, 2023
“We defended better and we took chances. We’re good at reacting to setbacks, we’ve dropped a few silly points, but then in the next game we’ve come back and won.”
With a minute played, Fraserburgh took the lead when Jamie Beagrie headed home Ryan Cowie’s corner.
Playing down the slope in the second period, the visitors pressed on with Scott Barbour finishing off a Ryan Sargent cross.
Shortly before the hour mark Sean Butcher headed home the third from a Barbour corner.
Marc Lawrence’s effort from 12 yards made it four then Barbour notched his second from another Sargent delivery in the 76th minute.
Logan Watt completed the scoring by dispossessing Ryan Campbell and firing past goalkeeper James More.
Scorries struggle
Wick player-manager Gary Manson said: “Every time we play the top teams we seem to struggle.
“The first half was very even, but they scored with a free header from a corner after a minute.
“We seem to like giving teams a goal head start, it’s ridiculous and has happened time after time.
“To be fair the boys rallied and created a few half chances and there was nothing in the game at half-time.
“The second half was a non-event for us, we struggled to get out of our half and didn’t show any quality.
“The goals we’re losing is amateur or schoolboy stuff. The goals we’re conceding against the top teams are farcical – it’s not just the manner, it’s the quantity as well.”
Conversation