Peterhead striker Russell McLean has played down the youthfulness of their side – saying they should have enough experience to cope.
The average of the Blue Toon side which beat Queen’s Park 2-1 on Saturday was just over 21, with four teenagers in the starting line-up.
McLean came off the bench to score the winner with 15 minutes to go, after Scott Brown’s penalty had cancelled out the opener from Luca Connell.
“We are a young team but that shouldn’t really be excuse,” said McLean. “We’ve got enough experience between Brett (Long), Jason (Brown), Scott Brown, then me and Del (Lyle) coming on.
“Yeah we are young but it shows it doesn’t mean anything. When you play against a Queen’s Park team with boys who’ve been full-time most of their career, playing hundreds of games, it shouldn’t matter.
“It’s a good win, against a full-time team in a game nobody expects you to win. I thought the first 15-20 minutes we were a wee bit off it but after that, we competed well.”
McLean and Derek Lyle were second-half substitutes for Peterhead and helped turn the game in their favour.
Former Montrose striker McLean was in the right place at the right time to find the net, reacting quickest after Calum Ferrie had parried Josh Mulligan’s shot into the penalty area.
He added: “The manager didn’t really have to say anything to us coming on. We know what’s expected of us, we just have to try and do it.
“The goal was a tackle; the goalie has palmed it out and I couldn’t tell you if I’ve got their first or if he (the defender) has got there first. I’ve watched it spinning and thought it wasn’t going to go in but thankfully it hit the post and went in.”
