Blue Toon boss rues own goals as Gable Endies take points

Peterhead boss Jim McInally was disappointed with his side’s display in their 3-0 defeat at Montrose.

The result leaves the Blue Toon bottom of League One – one point adrift of ninth-place Clyde.

After the game he said: “I thought that until half time it was an OK performance, without looking like scoring.

“I don’t think they looked much like scoring either.

“We started the game OK and I did say to them at half time they’d need to improve a wee bit or they’d lose the game because I felt they were just starting to dominate and that’s basically what happened.

“We didn’t really step up, we gave the ball away carelessly too often and to concede two own-goals is tough to take.

“It makes it much tougher.

“Anyway, the better team won the game and we’ve no complaints because we’re not threatening the other goal enough.”

For almost an hour Peterhead competed with the Angus side.

Just after the half-hour mark Danny Strachan had a scoring opportunity but he shot straight at Ross Sinclair in the home goal and just on the stroke of half-time a Michael Hewitt shot met the same fate.

Both sides spurned chances and for a while it looked as if this game might end goalless.

The breakthrough for Montrose came in the 56th minute when a cross from the left by Andrew Steeves was deflected into his own net by Ryan Strachan.

The Blue Toon men continued to work hard and they always looked dangerous but the Gable Endies secured the points in bizarre fashion on 78 minutes when they added to their tally through David Wilson who deflected the ball into the net for a second own-goal.

A Montrose player finally got on the scoresheet in the final minute of regulation time when Craig Brown broke clear on the left and unselfishly squared the ball to fellow substitute Matthew Wright who stroked the ball past Peterhead keeper Tom Ritchie.

McInally added: “We had a strong team on the pitch today.

“That’s as strong as we get really so there isn’t any excuse as far as bodies go or anything like that.

“We were beaten by a good side, a better side than us... and that was it really.

“We keep making the same mistakes all the time and you can’t expect to win a game of football if you keep giving the ball away as much as we do.

“You cannot get up the park and score a goal, so it’s a terrible mixture.”

Peterhead manager Jim McInally.