The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Slow start not a noble way to win promotion
Steven concerned despite win
Full back Steven Noble has warned Peterhead must start games better after the BlueToon were once again forced to come from behind to defeat League 2 basement side Queen’s Park, who have yet to register a point.
Rory McAllister and Fraser McLaren scored either side of the interval at Balmoor, after Tony Quinn had fired the Spiders in front, to give Jim McInally’s men their second win in a row.
They have become accustomed to making life difficult for themselves as, in all five league matches this season, they have conceded the first goal.
Captain Noble was happy with the turnaround, but knows the players need to stop giving the opposition head starts.
Noble said: “We have got to start games better and stop giving away cheap goals. I would say the Queen’s Park goal came from a bit of good movement, but we do need to start on the front foot.
“It is a bit concerning we keep falling behind, especially considering we were so strong at the back last season and had a better defensive record than Rangers.
“That has to be the aim, to start games better and finish teams off as well because we should have been out of sight against Queen’s Park.”
It was not until after the Spiders went in front that Peterhead sprung into life. A clever dummy from Quinn linked play with Michael Keenan and he then buried an eight-yard shot beyond Graeme Smith.
The hosts were level twominutes before half time courtesy of a McAllister header. He met a David Cox free kick to nod past Blair Lochhead, although the visiting goalkeeper should have done better. McAllister then turned provider to set up what proved to be the winner in the 50th minute.
The former Brechin player robbed Ricki Lamie of possession in the Queen’s Park penalty area and then showed neat footwork before squaring for McLaren to score.
Peterhead went on to dominate proceedings but could not score a third. McAllister squandered a golden opportunity in the 85th minute when he ran through on goal only to hit his effort over the bar.
Thankfully for McAllister, it did not prove costly as the Blue Toon saw out the remainder of the match to climb to fourth place in the table.
Noble added: “People look at Peterhead and think we have had a poor start to the season but we have only lost once and had a couple of wins and two draws.
“It’s by no means a disaster as we are up to fourth, back in the mix and hopefully we can push on and get the top of the league sooner rather than later.”