Gordonians ‘will hurt other teams’

Gordonians playerpresident Matthew Brechin has backed his side to be the surprise package in the second half of the National 2 season.

The Aberdeen side picked up their third win of the season with a 24-14 victory against Newton Stewart at Countesswells and are aiming to close the gap on the teams above them as they bid to pull away from the drop zone at the bottom of the division.

Having had a chance to play all the sides in the league Brechin insists there is cause for optimism.

He said: “The structures we work on in training are coming together in matches and I feel we’re managing games better.

“We’re 11 games into the season and it has taken time for the squad to gel, but it’s definitely starting to take shape.

“That’s why I’m confident we will take points off teams who we didn’t in the first half of the season.

“We’ve got a strong squad and we will do damage to teams in the second half of the season if we stick to the game plan.”

Brechin points to last weekend’s victory as a sign the club is moving in the right direction with two games remaining before the winter break.

He said: “Last weekend against Newton Stewart was a game which we knew we needed to take points from, given where we are in the table, and the team stepped up.

“We’ve been involved in some really good games against them.

“We’ve been in the same league together for a few years and played each other regularly.

“The matches have always been pretty close and they play a similar style to us, so it was nice to get the win.”

Having recorded a morale-boosting victory, Gordonians face the sternest of tests tomorrow when league leaders GHK make the trip north.

GHK dished out a 76-3 mauling when the sides met on the opening day of the season but Brechin expects a much more competitive tussle between the teams at Countesswells.

He said: “GHK are champions-elect. They ripped us apart on the opening day of the season.

“We made a decent start and it was a competitive opening 20 minutes but once they got into their stride they were really impressive.

“They are a very strong team and they’ve shown that. They have won 10 of their 11 games and you don’t pick up eight try bonus points if you are not doing something right.

“They beat us heavily but we know we are infinitely better now than when we played them at the start of the season and hopefully we can show that on Saturday by giving them one of their toughest games of the season.

“It’s a tough game for us but we’re looking forward to it.

“We see this game as a chance to demonstrate how far we’ve come.”

We’re 11 games in and it has taken time for the squad to gel, but it’s definitely starting to take shape

ON THE MOVE: Gordonians’ Angus Winning, right, is tackled by Jack Gaw of Newton Stewart. Picture by Chris Sumner.