Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Half-time pep talk spurs Ferry lads on to victory
FERRY Athletic moved t hemselves up to fou rth i n the U/19 P reside nt ’s Leag ue after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Lincraig at Dawson Park.
The hosts were made to work for the points after finding themselves a goal behind at the interval.
However, a few choice words by manager Jamie McGrath at the interval did the trick as the Ferry Lads hit back to win.
Louis Anderson grabbed the leveller after 65 minutes after being set up by a fine through ball from left-back Rhys Muir.
Eight minutes later, striker Ryan Smith completed the comeback when he showed some neat footwork before curling the ball into the Lincraig net for the winner.
The result was a relief for boss McGrath, who had watched his depleted side lose at Forfar the week before.
“We had a couple of chances before they scored but we were 1-0 down to a free-kick at half time,” said McGrath.
“We basically told the lads the first-half performance wasn’t good enough so we shook things up a wee bit.
“To be fair, we’ve been struggling numbers wise recently due to a variety of reasons.
“We’ve been down to around 12 players over the past few weeks whereas before we were operating with around 19.
“But the team responded in the second half. To be fair, Lincraig dug i n and they could have nicked a goal on the break.
“However, given the chances we missed, I think in the end we were worthy winners.
“Although we’ve had a couple of setbacks, we are going along nicely and we have quite a few boys who can play at this level again next season.
“The experience they are gaining should bode well for the future.”