Post-Match Reaction: We Deserved Our Equaliser
A late Martin MacDonald header rescued a point for Nairn County at Clachnacuddin on Saturday as the Nairn number five rose above home goalkeeper Neil Hastie to snatch a late equaliser.
County broke the deadlock in the first when Shaun Kerr stopped to meet a Gregg Main free kick into the box and send a tremendous header beyond Hastie.
Clach levelled a minute after the restart as Adam Naismith nipped in to stab the ball beyond County goalkeeper Callum Donaldson. And things got worse for Les Fridge's men when Gordon Morrison
After Clach midfielder Colin Williamson was sent off, Nairn cranked up the pressure on the home goal in search of an equaliser. And they thought they had done it when Stephen Skinner netted on 92 minutes. But Nairn's joy was shortlived when the referee disallowed the former Ross County defender's strike.
The drama wasn't finished there though as Nairn's never-say-die attitude saw them grab a point as MacDonald headed home a Glenn Main cross.
County boss Fridge felt his side deserved a share of the spoils. He said: "I thought we did enough to take something out of the game. We started the game really well and controlled a lot or most of the first half. We scored a good goal with a good delivery from Gregg Main and a neat finish from Shaun Kerr. We also defended really well at times."
But Fridge's side were clawed back before the manager was even able to take up his position to watch the second half. He added: "At half time, I told them to keep it tight in the second half. Obviously I
That led to Fridge adopting a more attacking approach. "We changed things about from there and with three up front. We kept going and mounted as much pressure as we could and scored in the 93rd minuted only to have the goal disallowed but then scored in the 94th minute. That says a lot about the character of the team."
Fridge's side will need all of that character again next week when they face another tough away derby, this time at Forres Mechanics. The hosts will be on a high having beaten Dalbeattie Star in the Scottish Cup on Monday afternoon as County look to avenge their narrow 1-0 defeat on the same ground last season.