Post-Match Reaction: 'No Complaints'/Lewis Set To Stay
Three goals in the space of 12 minutes in the second half were enough to kill off Nairn County's hopes of taking something from their midweek trip to Cove Rangers. And manager Les Fridge admitted that the better side had won on the night.
The boss was restricted in his team selection as his squad was hit by work commitments. Nine first team players were unavailable and Fridge had to name three youth team players on the bench.
The hosts broke the deadlock on 24 minutes when Martin Johnston fired home past John Campbell,
The visitors competed well for the first hour or so but Cove grabbed a killer second when Kevin Tindal flicked a Barrie Stephen free kick beyond Campbell on 65 minutes.
Then Johnston notched his second of the evening on 74 minutes before Clark Bain rifled home a long range effort to complete the scoring five minutes later.
County boss Fridge spoke to Nairn County FC Online and had no complaints about the result. "I think we were beaten by the better team over the piece," he said. "We lost a couple of very cheap goals which didn't help matters. We competed well for an hour or so even when we were 1-0 down. But we were just overpowered in the end and on the night we were beaten by the better team. It's as simple as that and you can't afford to concede cheap goals against a team like."
The manager was less than pleased at having to make such a journey
The five players Fridge named on the bench had played a combined total of 18 minutes in the first team this season with four of them still to make their debuts. On the other hand, Cove were able to call on the likes of former Dundee and Republic of Ireland centre forward Jerry O'Driscoll and the one-time most expensive player in the Highland League, winger Barrie Stephen. "There was a big difference between the two benches," the manager commented. "We had three youth team players on our bench but no disrespect to them because it was just the way it was."
He added: "With the current economic climate, it is a lot more difficult for boys to get off work. A lot of boys are struggling to keep their jobs with the ways things are going. But we have got to get on with it and for an hour or so we were competing in the game but we were overpowered in the end and we have just got to accept that."
Fridge sprung a surprise by including Lewis MacKinnon in his team. The centre forward has been at the club since November but was expected to return to Australia this week. In fact, the player told Nairn County FC Online in an interview after the Keith game on Saturday that he was set to jet back to Oz on Monday. But it now looks as if he could remain at Station Park for the foreseeable future. Fridge explained: "It's one of those where if he doesn't go this week then it looks like he'll be staying. We'll just have to monitor the situation but if he is going to be staying we'll be delighted. We did a lot of work to get him here in the first place so it would be great if he stayed."
County take a break from league action when they enter the first round of the Highland League Cup with a trip to Rothes this Saturday. The MacKessack Park outfit are currently managerless after Rab Mulheron's resignation last weekend. And Fridge is wary of the threat the Speysiders will pose on their home turf. He said: "It is never an easy place to go as every team is capable of doing something on their own patch. We don't know how they're going to react to losing their manager. It could have an adverse affect but it could mean their players have a point to prove. Their new manager could be watching so we don't really know what we are going to get come Saturday."