Ross praises resilience of his Jeanfield players Swifts fight back from two behind to secure a draw
Jeanfield Swifts manager Ross Gunnion praised the character of his squad after coming from two behind to earn a draw against Carnoustie.
An exciting opening 15 minutes at the Riverside witnessed four goals with the visitors scoring the first two.
But Perth striker Robbie Holden soon latched on to a Chris Anton through ball and slotted past the keeper before Stevie McManus guided a low strike into the back of the net.
While Carnoustie were reduced to 10 men in the second half, the Perth squad couldn’t secure all three points and were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw.
“I think we maybe just edged the game on Saturday but it was certainly a competitive hard fought affair.” Gunnion told the Perthshire Advertiser.
“Carnoustie are a fit, physical team and we had to respond in kind to get a foothold in the game.
“Losing Mark Gordon to a poor challenge after five minutes disrupted us at the start and we found ourselves 2-0 down not long after.
“But the character to come back and get on level terms was excellent and our play certainly merited at least being on level terms at the break.”
Gunnion added: “Conceding the early goals was another blow but it shows how punishing this league can be.
“After going two nil down I can’t recall Mark Mitchell having another save to make.
“Whereas their keeper had a string of decent saves to keep us from adding to our tally. But overall I’m pleased with the attitude shown by the players and the subs.
“Chris Anton, who’s been struggling with a sickness bug for a while, came on early in the game and was excellent.”
SCONE THISTLE v LUNCARTY
Scone Thistle and Luncarty battled to a 1-1 draw at Farquharson Park on Saturday.
It was the Jags who seized a first half advantage when Craig Mitchell, whose brother Ross was in the visiting squad, rose tallest in the box to send a looping header into the back of the net.
This was a game which was expected to be tight and as play progressed it was evident that there was very little between the teams.
Although behind the Bleachers weren’t willing to settle for defeat. And they levelled the Perthshire derby with 10 minutes remaining on the clock.
The goal came from the penalty spot and Richard Doig - a former Scone player - was the man selected to take the important kick.
Home keeper Josh Gorton guessed correctly but there was too much precision in the forward’s shot as it nestled in the corner.
Luncarty manager Jon Kelly said: “I was very disappointed in our first half display on Saturday. I thought we started brightly but once we lost a very slack goal we lost our way a bit in a very scrappy game.
“To be fair to the players the playing surface was not great at all and made it very difficult to play any football.
“In the second half we made a few changes and once we got the equaliser we then had chances to win the game.
“But there were times in the game we must be better and the players know this.”
KINNOULL
Star man Rhys Davies netted four goals as Kinnoull brushed aside Forfar Albion on Saturday afternoon.
The Tullloch Park forward was in fine form and has now scored 31 goals this season with his first at the weekend coming in the 10th minute.
He would double his tally eight minutes later before adding another two to cap off an impressive performance.
Robbie Norrie was the other scorer for Kinnoull in a comprehensive 5-0 victory which keeps Alan Cameron’s men chasing North Division promotion.
COUPAR ANGUS
Coupar Angus manager Logan McConachie insists he was never concerned with his side’s home form.
The Foxhall Park squad were without a win at home all season as Arbroath Vics made the journey to east Perthshire at the weekend.
But McConachie’s men put that record to bed on Saturday afternoon with a convincing 4-0 victory courtesy of goals from Chris Liversedge, Tom Casey, Alex Gibb and Ross Nicholson.
“We’ve said for a long time that when we all finally click together we’ll completely control some games,” the Coupar boss said.
“That was the case on Saturday where Arbroath were pinned back and couldn’t prevent us from getting in behind them. It’s great for the lads as they were all desperate to get back on track.
“The home form never fazed me. Those defeats came at the start of the year when we weren’t properly ready to compete. The recent defeats have been to teams vying for promotion. We knew our luck would turn around.
“Our defensive shape was outstanding on Saturday - the back four were solid and gave little opportunity for Arbroath to take any chances.”
BLAIRGOWRIE
It was a feisty Perthshire derby clash as Scone and Luncarty met on Saturday Blairgowrie’s disappointing run of results continued at the weekend as they lost out 3-0 to new league leaders Kirrie Thistle.