Post Match Reaction: Fridge Satisfied with Second Half
Nairn County boss Les Fridge said that he was happy with the work rate of his side during last night's 6-0 friendly defea to Livingston, particularly at the start of the second half.
The Lions raced into a three-goal lead before the break and despite County's energetic display over the 90 minutes, the First Division side added another three goals after the break. It was a real backs-to-the-wall job at times for Nairn as the full time outfit showed their class, leaving the Nairn forward line of Brooks and Barron to feed on scraps for the majority of the evening.
Minutes after the full time whistle sounded at Station Park, Fridge took time to speak to the site. He said: "This is the first time that we have played 90 minutes and they (Livingston) are a very strong, full time side. They train twice a day and have been doing so for the past couple of weeks and I think that showed in how sharp and fit they were."
The manager was less than pleased with some of the goals that his team conceded. He said: "I still think that three of the goals were down to basic mistakes by us but that will happen until we get our sharpness back. The more games we play, the more that sharpness will come."
He added: "I thought we came out in the second half and worked really hard. For 20-25 minutes we pressed the game quite high and baring in mind, we created several chances - it wasn't just a one-sided game. But at the start of the second half for that 20-25 minutes, that was more like us. I was wanting to give everyone a run out so we put on all the subs and changed things about a bit and lost a couple of late goals. But I thought when the fourth goal went in, that was their first shot on target of the second half. We worked really well and we combated their system in the second half and I have got to be happy with that.
"It was a pre-season exercise and a very hard exercise as you would be able to tell by the boys in the dressing room - they're knackered. But I'm very happy with the second half even though we lost a couple of late goals through on thing or another and overall it was a good pre-season exercise."
Fridge started with 11 players who were all with the club last season and had new signings Shaun Kerr, Angus Lawrie and John Calder on the bench. All three made second half debuts while other summer arrivals Chris Finnigan and Scott Graham were unavailable. The manager said: "The new boys have been here for a couple of weeks training with us and they have fitted in well. They get on with the rest of the squad and I was keen to give everyone a run out today."