A Julian Wade winner was enough for Breedon Highland League leaders Formartine United to edge a 1-0 win against Huntly at Christie Park.
It was seventh consecutive win away from home for United and manager Stuart Anderson admitted they had to battle for the three points.
He said: “The game could’ve went either way and both teams had a lot of chances.
“Huntly were the better team in the first half and we probably edged the chances in the second half.
“The goal was a good delivery from Dylan (Lobban) and thankfully Julian was there to turn it in.
“The players stuck to their task and got to grips with the game in the second half. The defence was really solid and we were able to limit Huntly in the second half to very little.”
The hosts came close after four minutes through Andrew Hunter and Michael Dangana saw the woodwork prevent an opener.
Huntly had a penalty claim ten minutes later for a possible foul on Dangana by Aaron Norris but referee Dan McFarlane waved away the appeals.
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— Huntly Football Club (@huntlyfc) November 4, 2023
Fraser Hobday denied the visitors an opener, smothering Graeme Rodger’s low drive after 33 minutes.
United went ahead eight minutes before the interval when a Dylan Lobban corner saw a scramble at the near post and Julian Wade turned in his 11th goal of the season.
In the 57th minute, Lewis Crosbie teed up Dangana who forced Ewen Macdonald to save low.
Wade passed up a good chance to double the advantage for his side when he found the side-netting with a headed effort. Wade went close again with a minute remaining with another header from a Scott Lisle cross.
It was a first home defeat in the league for Huntly this season and manager Allan Hale felt they paid the prices for failing to take their early chances.
He said: “We put a lot into the game.
“I was disappointed with the first half; we should’ve been ahead within the first ten minutes after hitting the post twice.
“They get a goal from a set piece which was a cheap goal to give away. For all the pressure that we had we I don’t think their keeper had a save and on the balance of that you can’t really argue with the result.”
Brora Rangers 3-2 Forres Mechanics
Brora Rangers held on for all three points against Forres Mechanics in an entertaining encounter which finished 3-2 to the Cattachs.
Ally Macdonald. the Brora boss, said: “The first half was great – three goals and we were deserving of it.
“We switched off defensively for a ten-minute period and they punished us.
“The conditions were difficult in the second half, but in the past, we could have drawn this game, but I was delighted that we were able to see it out.”
Brora signalled their intent early on with Tony Dingwall powering down the left wing and finding Andy Macrae who played a one-two with Jordan MacRae and his shot clipped the crossbar.
Brora opened the scoring in the 17th minute when the Forres defence failed to deal with a Dingwall cross and Adam Mackinnon slotted home to kick start his second loan spell from Ross County with the Cattachs.
Brora doubled their advantage when Jordan MacRae fired beyond Euan Storrier before Mackinnon released Max Ewan who cut in from the right wing, dribbled to the edge of the 18-yard box and cushioned the ball with his left foot into the bottom corner of the net.
Forres managed to get on the scoresheet before half time when Craig Mackenzie volleyed home.
With ten minutes of the match remaining, the home side were reduced to ten men when Millar Gamble was given a straight red card.
From the resulting free-kick, the rebound fell to substitute Taylor Thain whose smart finish set up a tense finale but Brora held on for a 3-2 win.
Forres boss Steven MacDonald said: “I thought Brora were excellent in the first half, but we got the goals to give us a chance, but it didn’t happen.
“I was pleased with how our boys dug in and they deserve a lot of credit.”
