For the second week in a row, Peterhead boss Jim McInally was left feeling flattered by the scoreline after his side dipped way below-par.
The 3-2 scoreline against Airdrieonians – the Blue Toon’s third defeat in succession – does not tell the full story.
The Diamonds came up the road depleted after a number of positive Covid cases during the week but were comfortably the better side at Balmoor.
Rhys McCabe had given them the lead in the first-half with a free-kick and got his second from the penalty spot with 20 minutes to go.
When Gabby McGill slotted in the third five minutes later, it arguably gave a fair reflection of their dominance. Only numerous top saves from Brett Long had kept the score down.
Skipper Scott Brown dragged his side back into the game in the closing stages with a spectacular volley and substitute Russell McLean’s close-range finish made the ending nervy for the visitors.
But McInally acknowledges they did not deserve anything more out of the game.
“We were never at the races,” he said. “Like I said the last week, the scoreline flattered us. We should probably have been five or six down and the wee bit at the end – we always looked like scoring but so did they.
“A fairer reflection of the game probably would have been 6-3. We looked like a team that’s really low on confidence. We looked a bit of soft touch.
“Brett was excellent – I said at half-time we were still in the game because of him. He started the second half in the same vain.
Full Time: Peterhead 2-3 @AirdrieoniansFC
Not enough time to complete the comeback as Brown and McLean’s goals aren’t enough#BlueToon 🔵⚪️💙
— Peterhead FC (@pfcofficial) August 21, 2021
“The only pleasing thing is we never threw the towel in. There’s a bit of irony at the minute, in that Josh Mulligan is our best right-winger and our best centre-half. We’ve got a dilemma with him because he’s such a good player.”
Long made a double save early on to keep out McGill and Dylan Easton, before denying the latter again with an incredible one-handed stop.
McCabe got his first when he lifted the ball over the wall from a free-kick and beyond Long, with Peterhead’s only real chance coming from a Derek Lyle header.
Adam Frizzell was kept at bay by Long in the second period before also snuffing out a one-on-one opportunity for Callum Gallagher with his legs.
The second came after Ryan Conroy was caught out by Callum Smith’s run and he brought the midfielder down inside the box. McCabe sent Long the wrong way from the spot.
McGill rounded off a neat move five minutes later by rounding the goalkeeper and sliding into an empty net.
Brown gave Peterhead a glimmer of hope with a wonderful volley, dispatching a half-cleared set-piece into the top corner, before McLean jabbed in from close range to spark a frantic finale.
But for the young Blue Toon side, it is a third defeat on the bounce and McInally has to try reinject some confidence after a slow start to the season.
He added: “They need to keep being brave and putting themselves into positions to make mistakes, not hiding from it.
“I could see from their players there was a demand to get on the ball. They came with a cause because their back four was depleted but the midfield three and front three were their regular players.
“We need to encourage our players to keep being brave and you hope they build their confidence back up a bit. That’s the problem with young players – they can get their heads down a bit.
“Scott Brown scores a fantastic goal but by his standards, he’s nowhere near it at the minute. Hamish is nowhere near it at the minute. They’re big players and we just need to encourage them.”
