(06/08/2022 – BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE, GRANT PARK, LOSSIEMOUTH)
And Lo! For on the seventh day God created Buckie Thistle so he’d have a team to watch! (Silas, 3:16)
At the best of times, most football teams can consider themselves lucky to be given the chance to share a pitch – nay, planet! – with BUCKIE THISTLE, so to have been witness to The Jags scoring six unanswered goals can only have warmed the very cockles of the hearts of LOSSIEMOUTH supporters on a drizzly day in Moray.
The hosts began the game with former Buckie man Martin Charlesworth leading the line, while work commitments denied the Coasters the services of Scott Miller and injury kept Ryan Stuart, Connor Macaulay and Baylee Campbell out of the picture. Buckie may have arrived on the back of two narrow league wins, but the Jags haven’t enjoyed themselves on the road, having been evicted from two cup competitions already.
The Jags support had – as always – travelled in large numbers and many, many fans were still attempting to filter through the turnstiles as the game began in overcast conditions, and it became clear early on it was to be a long afternoon for Lossie. The travellers were immediately on the front foot, with their pace and Lossie’s sluggishness combining for an uncomfortable afternoon. The opening goal was hardly a classic, with Josh Peters chesting the ball in from a few yards after just twelve minutes.
Naturally – naturally! – Buckie‘s immense superiority was relentless, with an unsportsmanlike foul on Marcus Goodall earning the Jags a free kick on the edge of the area and Lewis McAndrew a yellow card. Buckie wasted the set piece but were assisted in their pursuit of a second goal by a creaky Lossie, leaving that man Sam Urquhart with all the time in the world to head home from close range. Chances for the Coasters were rare, with a free kick failing to get beyond a solid Buckie wall one and a Martin Charlesworth header another that failed to trouble Balint Demus in the Buckie goal.
The afternoon soured just before the interval. As the drizzle started to consider becoming rain, Kyle Macleod went through on goal and drilled the ball beneath Logan Ross for the third of the afternoon, killing off any thoughts of a comeback harboured by even the most optimistic Lossie supporter, of which there are few even on a good day. The goal was followed by howls of appeal towards the shedside assistant for an offside flag from most of those in red, but the harsh reality was Lossie just couldn’t keep up with their peers.
HALF TIME – LOSSIEMOUTH 0-3 BUCKIE THISTLE
The Lossie support had to watch on as the second half played out in much the same fashion, with the clouds overhead growing as dark as the mood of the locals. On the hour, Cohen Ramsey added a fourth for the stupendous Jags. In the moments that followed, Ross Elliott drilled the ball across the face of goal – Lossie’s only real chance of the half – ahead of a second yellow card for Jared Kennedy which left Lossie a man down for the remainder of the afternoon.
A rake of subs for both sides interrupted the afternoon, with the stoppages in play allowing the Buckie fans to sing as one to the whole crowd, a veritable gospel choir singing loudly the praises of an almighty Jags side who deserved no less, and of one Jimmy Shaker, too!
Once play restarted, Buckie’s fresh legs outperformed the new blood in red, and Scott Adams added a fifth and then a sixth as Buckie went one goal better than in both games last season, with Lossie once again drawing a blank against their coastal neighbours.
The end of the game couldn’t come quick enough following the goals from Adams, but with the final whistle came the scores from elsewhere in the league which – combined with the result at Grant Park – condemned Lossie to spending the week at the foot of the table, while the massed ranks of the Buckie support were free to loudly cheer their heroes – as they always do – from the pitch before heading through the big gate to their many, many waiting buses. The Lossie support should have been asked to pay again on the way out for the privilege of having been allowed to watch such a shift with their own eyes – quite frankly, they’d have happily paid it!
FULL TIME – LOSSIEMOUTH 0-6 BUCKIE THISTLE
TEAMS:
LOSSIEMOUTH – Logan Ross; Michael Weir, Jared Kennedy, Lewis McAndrew, Liam Archibald, Niall Kennedy (James Leslie (70)), Ross Elliott (Fraser Forbes (64)), Martin Charlesworth, Scott Thomson, Ryan O’Halloran (Jack MacArthur (83)), Ross Morrison; UNUSED SUBS – Ross Archibald, Stephen Woodhouse
BUCKIE THISTLE – Balint Demus; Hamish Munro, Lewis Mackinnon (Shaun Wood (59)), Jack Murray, Cohen Ramsey, Sam Pugh, Kevin Fraser (Joe McCabe (59)), Marcus Goodall, Kyle Macleod (Scott Adams (69)), Josh Peters, Sam Urquhart; UNUSED SUBS – Andrew MacAskill, Declan Milne, Lee Herbert
GOALS:
BUCKIE THISTLE – Josh Peters (12), Sam Urquhart (19), Kyle Macleod (44), Cohen Ramsey (58), Scott Adams (71, 83)
RED CARD:
Jared Kennedy (63, second yellow card)
REFEREE:
Daniel McFarlane