Brora boss Mackay praises hat-trick hero Morrison after derby win
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Brora player/manager Steven Mackay praised Greg Morrison for his three-goal haul against Wick Academy on Saturday, saying the 22-year-old ex-Ross County forward was “unplayable at times”.
Morrison’s treble helped see off a spirited Wick side as the Cattachs took another step towards the Highland League title with a 4-1 win at Dudgeon Park.
Mackay, though, felt his players had been sloppy after establishing a 2-0 lead going into the break.
“Our message at half-time was to go and kill the game off and not allow them to work their way back into it. We didn’t do that,” Mackay said.
“We were pretty sloppy at the start of the second half and they obviously scored a goal from a corner – it was good strike from Sam [Mackay], a little bit fortuitous with the deflection.
“That made the game a little bit tighter than we were comfortable with."
Wick's Jack Halliday was red-carded for a foul on Morrison after 73 minutes, with the score at 2-1.
“Obviously the sending off made a massive impact on the game, and I think it was the right decision – Greg Morrison was clean through and was taken out in no uncertain terms," Mackay said.
“That obviously gave us the advantage, and to score the third goal shortly after just killed the game off.
“I was pleased with the result. The performance was okay at times but a little bit of sloppiness crept in, which was not great.
“Greg was really impressive throughout the whole of the game. I thought he was unplayable at times – he is such a strong runner and a powerful boy. We’ve always encouraged him to get into the box more and sniff out opportunities.
“I thought his first goal was really well taken and his second goal was a great strike. I’m not sure how much the keeper saw of it, or if he was just caught off guard.
“I was delighted for Greg. I thought between him and Dale Gillespie and the two centre-halves, they were the pick of the bunch today.
“We always try to control the game as much as we can and then wait for the right opportunities to open up. We’ve got such a strong back five, including Joe [Malin], and that has always been the foundation of the team.
“We don’t concede an awful lot of goals. It was a bit frustrating to lose one today, but these things happen so we can’t complain too much.”
There was an injury setback for Brora when striker Jordan Macrae hobbled off after a quarter of an hour, having fallen awkwardly.
“He has just rolled his ankle. It’s swollen at this stage, nothing broken,” Mackay said. “He’ll probably miss the next couple of weeks which isn’t great for us. We’re down to the bare bones and I might even have to put the boots on myself.”
