Buckie assistant boss admits Wick Academy fitness was a factor
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Buckie Thistle’s assistant manager Lewis MacKinnon admitted Wick Academy were the fitter team as the Scorries dug out a 2-0 victory at Harmsworth Park on Saturday.
Marc Macgregor’s well-taken double – a shot from the edge of the box three minutes before the break, then a lob over Lee Herbert just after the hour mark – secured all three points for the home side in a match that was affected by a strong wind and a heavy pitch.
The result extended Wick’s unbeaten league run to eight games and it gives them the edge in the mini-battle to see who can finish in seventh spot.
“It was tough conditions, but it was the same for both teams and I think Wick adapted better,” MacKinnon said. “They played on this pitch a couple of nights ago [a 2-0 win against Nairn on Wednesday night] and I thought their legs might go, but actually they were the fitter team and that was one of the things that disappointed me.
“I didn’t think there was much in the game. Just before half-time is never a good time to concede a goal. Steven Ross had a good chance but he took a heavy touch – unfortunately that was probably our only chance of the game.
“In the second half I thought there was a foul on Callum Murray in the box. They broke away and got a bit of luck. The big striker just seemed to hang a leg out and the wind took it in, so there was a bit of a fortune there, the rub of the green.
“Nothing really dropped for us. We huffed and puffed. It was a tight game between two teams in mid-table but unfortunately we are carrying on the trend of a good performance one week and then a poorer performance.
“We need more consistency. We had four or five changes from the last game. It was a disappointing day.
“There was a shining light with Sam Urquhart getting 30 minutes – he has been out for a long time – and Hamish Munro starting the game and completing 90 minutes. Those are positives.
“Seventh place is our target as we can’t catch the teams above. We’ve got five games to go after this – very winnable games – so we’ll be going all out to win those and finish seventh. That has become our target.
“We need to finish the season on a high, so we’ll look to get a run of wins together to the end of the season and get our heads up again.”
