Post Match Reaction: 'Win Was Comfortable' - Fridge
Two goals inside three minutes at the start of the second half were enough for Nairn County to take all three points from their visit to Brora Rangers' Dudgeon Park on Saturday.
Les Fridge's men were looking to bounce back from missing out on a pot of Scottish Cup gold last week and a rainbow was present in the skies above Dudgeon Park as the match began. The visitors were well worth their win after creating numerous chances in the first half before they controlled possession after snatching the goals through top scorer Shaun Kerr and Martin MacDonald.
"This is a very difficult place to come. Brora are a young side who work very hard for 90 minutes but I thought we controlled 95 percent of the game. Apart from a couple of wee mistakes from us in the first half that allowed them opportunities, I think in general we were very comfortable. We had a lot of the ball in the first half and we were knocking it about and creating chances. That meant it was only a matter of time before the goals came."
Brora's stubborn defence kept Nairn at bay for the first 45 minutes, but some clinical finishing after the break paid off for Fridge's men.
He said: "I had a wee chat with the players at half time and told them that they were not doing a lot wrong and that the goals would come and they did.
"We had two shots knocked off the line and I thought it was a very comfortable 2-0 in the end."
County goalkeeper John Campbell was rewarded with another
Fridge said: "We kept a high line defensively and pressed the game high up the park so that kept the ball away from our back line. But when they did have to perform, they did. John Campbell had a great save from Brora's only real chance of the match to keep us in the game."
He added: "But I thought it was only a matter of time for us. We were controlling the game and playing really well. Brora came into it maybe in the last five minutes but we were tiring a wee bit because we put in a great shift and played a really good pressing game today."
Defender Martin MacDonald - who started his Nairn career as a striker - bagged his second goal in as many games, and when Fridge was asked whether he had any plans to deploy the ex-Brora man in attack once again he replied: "None at all!"
He added: "He (MacDonald) goes up for set pieces and that's fine at the moment. Last week was a wee bit different when Buckie had the man sent off and I pushed him forward because we went to three up front. He is capable of scoring goals as you can see but he's predominantly now a defender and he does a very good job for us at the back."
Neil MacDonald's suspension meant Wayne Mackintosh moved back into the more familiar central role and the County youngster's energetic running in the middle of the park typified the hard working performance of the team overall. That left a void on the right hand side of midfield, filled by the returning Brian Macleod, who made his first appearance since the Scottish Cup win over Rothes at the end of September. The former Clach man was rumoured to be unsettled after being left out of the squad last week, but Nairn's Mr. Consistent slipped seamlessly back into the starting eleven and showed no signs of unhappiness.
Fridge said: "Brian is a good player who has done a very good job in my time here. He missed out for three weeks because of injury and that is why he was not in the squad last week. He is only just back in training now and I think he tired a wee bit today towards the end, he said that himself. But I thought he came in and did very well."
Nairn now embark on a gruelling month of fixtures which sees them take on table toppers Buckie Thistle twice, Cove Rangers and Fraserburgh. But the manager was far from pessimistic about his side's chances against three teams expected by the neutral to finish above County in the end of season league table and expects the home crowd play its part when Buckie and Cove come to Station Park.
He said: "We have not been out of the top three or four places in the league table throughout the first three months of the season which has been a great achievement.
"We have got Buckie and Cove at home in our next two matches and the fact that they are at home and we are going into them on the back of a good win means we will be able to give it our all."