Peterhead manager Jim McInally has often referenced how young his side is this season. On Saturday, they came of age.
A team with an average age of just over 21, which included four teenagers, stepped up to the plate in a big way to defeat League One title hopefuls Queen’s Park.
The 2-1 victory is one few would have seen coming, giving the consistency of the Spiders and the significant numbers of absentees McInally had to deal with.
But after Luca Connell’s opener and a first-half which was rocky at times, Peterhead found their feet. Scott Brown, who had been ill on Friday evening but declared himself fit to play, scored from the penalty spot and Russell McLean bundled home the winner with 15 minutes to go.
The Blue Toon had come off two chastening results against Cove Rangers and Airdrieonians, so to produce a result like this deserves huge credit.
“It’s a massive result. Looking at the other results in the league, you couldn’t make it up,” said McInally.
“I think the 10 outfield players had an average age of just over 21, which is really young. Everybody has come in and staked a claim and that’s what you want.
“When you see the boys who are not playing, it buys everybody a bit of time. At a push we could have played Hamish or Simon, but we need to manage the situation because this league is ruthless.
“It’s three points that nobody expected us to get. We played young-v-old in training the other night and the young lads murdered the old.
“Grant Savoury was so good and I was pleased for him, because that’s not his position. He’s got the belief about him, that he knows he can play. I don’t know if that comes from being a Celtic player.”
Andy McDonald and Niah Payne had been passed fit to play, despite missing training during the week, and Jordon Brown was able to make the bench but Peterhead were still without six first-team players through injury and suspension.
The response given by those who were present, on the back of the Cove loss, gave the Blue Toon boss encouragement.
“When we last played Queen’s Park we got an absolute hiding in the first half,” said McInally. “We responded to that game by beating Dumbarton.
“You just hope you do get a response and I think with young players, they don’t seem to carry it on. They just go and play again.
“I feared for us after 15-20 minutes when we lost the goal, that we could collapse. But I said to the boys at half-time ‘one is not enough for them’.
“When we played them down there they were a wee bit vulnerable – when we got to them eventually – and having those two (Derek Lyle and Russell McLean) on the bench able to came on, gave us another dimension physically when they came on.”
McInally had special words of praise for his captain, who played the full 90 minutes at Balmoor despite illness.
“Scott Brown had been really ill last night and I’d phoned him this morning to say not to travel,” he said. “But he insisted he was coming and would play, so it makes it even more pleasing and worthwhile that we get the result and the performance.”
