Peterhead co-manager Ryan Strachan was delighted with his side’s character as they completed a stunning second half comeback in Forfar on Saturday.
The Blue Toon were 3-0 down at the break following a double from former Peterhead player Russell McLean and a Stuart Morrison strike.
But the Blue Toon fought back through goals from Rory McAllister and Flynn Duffy before on-loan Aberdeen midfielder Alfie Stewart’s injury-time equaliser.
“I’m delighted with the point,” said Strachan.
“We were 3-0 down at half time and the world is against us. We conceded three soft, poor goals that were all preventable.
“It was a tale of two halves, we were excellent second half.
“To be honest I thought we were decent until they scored and our heads went down.
“We’ve had that in the past three or four games and it’s knocked us but the character that the boys showed was excellent.
“We had some honest words at half-time and then in the second half we just believed, we kept going and didn’t quit. Ultimately, we probably could have won the game. We didn’t but I’m delighted with the point.”
On the half-time pep talk, Strachan added: “There was no real heated discussion, it was more honest, man to man.
“Of course, when you’re 3-0 down there’s a bit of aggro, but it’s a dressing room and the boys are big enough to deal with it. Fair play, because to a man we were excellent in the second half.”
Elgin City 2-2 Stenhousemuir
Elgin City manager Allan Hale said his disappointment at dropping points against the runaway League Two leaders shows the progress being made at Borough Briggs.
City led a Warriors side 16 points clear at the top after an impressive first half performance which could easily have produced more goals.
But Stenny stepped up their game in the second half to level the match up and take a step closer to winning the title.
Russell Dingwall’s spot kick and a sweet Brian Cameron strike overturned Nat Wedderburn’s headed opener for the visitors in an enthralling first 45 minutes.
Euan O’Reilly’s 56th minute strike ensured both teams shared the spoils.
“Our first half performance was excellent so it kind of feels like a defeat in many ways,” Hale said.
“We missed two really good chances before half time and those are the chances, especially when you are playing teams at the top of the league that you’ve got to take advantage of.”
City dropped to seventh spot in a tight bottom half of League Two while bottom side Clyde won to close the gap on the pack above them.
Hale added: “Our situation in the league has not changed and I’m not really concerned about other results.
“It’s about us taking care of ourselves and focusing on our home performance levels, and if we get that right then we will pick up points.
“As long as we take care of what we are in control of, and that’s trying to win football games, then what happens with the league table will take care of itself.”
Alloa 4-1 Cove Rangers
Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley admitted his side paid the price for poor defensive errors in their 4-1 defeat at Alloa Athletic.
The Aberdeen side could have moved up to third spot in League One with a victory but ended the day in fifth spot, two points behind Montrose and four adrift of Alloa.
Hartley said: “We started well, and we seemed to be in control of the game with some opportunities that we did not take and then we lost a goal through an error on our part.
“We did not get started in the second half and made too many mistakes and defensive errors.
“We lost two goals, and then we got back into the match, but our overall defending was not good enough. We didn’t take our chances and were punished for our errors.”
Cove controlled the first half but it was stellar defending from ex-Cove player Morgyn Neil that kept the home side in the match.
Blair Yule and Rumarn Burrell both had chances with Burrell going close when he ran through the home defence but blasted over the bar.
Cove continued to press for the opener, but stout defending from Scott Taggart and Neill kept the score level.
Against the run of play, the home side took the lead from the penalty spot when Mark Reynolds pulled down Taylor Steven and Taggart fired home to give Alloa a somewhat undeserved lead.
Despite pressure from the visitors, it was the Wasps who stung Cove by scoring a second goal when Bobby Wales collected a loose ball in the Alloa half, ran through the Cove defence, and rifled the ball past Balint Demus from the edge of the box.
Cove pulled a goal back when Kyle Connell headed home from close range but the home side killed off the contest with two late goals.
Steven restored Alloa’s two-goal cushion with a superb left-footed shot. Then Steven Buchanan sent an effort which Demus saved with his fingertips, but Steven was there to convert the rebound.
Hartley added: “We still have 12 games to play, and it is up to the players and management to stick together and go for the victories.
“This is a topsy-turvy league, but we as a team need to stand up and be counted.
“We have good players in our squad, and we need to win, and sometimes it is not about performance levels; we still need to dig in and win.”
