Clach's Blair Lawrie hopes to silence Buckie Thistle and former team-mate Sam Urquhart
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BLAIR Lawrie has a lot of time for Sam Urquhart. Just not the 90 minutes that matter on Saturday.
Ex-Clach man Urquhart has blazed a trail for title challengers Buckie Thistle, scoring 17 goals, with their only loss in 18 games being their surprise 3-2 defeat at Keith on Wedensday.
He will be looking to haunt his old club tomorrow.
But for Lilywhite stalwart Lawrie, while he believes Urquhart deserves his moment in the sun, he wants to shut him and his goal-hungry Buckie team-mates down at Grant Street Park.
Urquhart joined the Jags in the summer after two seasons at Nairn County.
However, his formative years in the Highland League were spent at Clach under Iain Polworth, before stepping into the Scottish leagues with Elgin City in 2013.
His two seasons at Nairn saw him fill in multiple positions, including at wing-back, but his move to Victoria Park this summer has proved somewhat of a renaissance.
But Lawrie wants to put a stop to that tomorrow.
“It was only going to be a matter of time for Sam. He’s always had talent and he just needed to find the right team,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of time for him and I hope his form continues – just not on Saturday!
“He looks to have found a position that suits him, with a solid defence and midfield that mean he doesn’t have to do as much defensive work. If you create chances for him, he’ll score.
“We know him well but trying to stop him is another matter. Hopefully he has one of his poor performances. We need to keep their front three quiet but they’ve got quality all over the park. The whole team need to be on their toes and give them the respect they deserve.
“But we’re going into it full of confidence because we’re on a good run of form ourselves. We believe we can take three points.”
Urquhart is not the only former Merkincher in Buckie’s ranks. Defender Andrew Skinner also swapped Nairn for the Moray club in the summer and spent two years at Clach, joining after his release from Caley Thistle in 2013.
However, the revelation of the season has been the addition of John McLeod, who has also donned the white shirt.
His move from fellow title contenders Brora Rangers has brought an incredible 30 goals in just 15 games; Buckie’s front three of McLeod, Urquhart and Chris Angus have scored 62 of their 74 league goals.
High-flying Buckie lost their unbeaten record in midweek when Keith beat them with a last-gasp winner, leaving the Jags two points behind Brora, but still with a game in hand. While their strong start may have surprised many, Lawrie is not one of them.
“You look at the squad they’ve got and it’s one of the best in the league, if not the best,” said the police officer.
“It wasn’t too much of a surprise when you have some fantastic players and obviously ones that are known to us.”
Clach look to have found their own goal-getter and again, he is a known quantity. Daniel MacLennan returned to the side earlier in the season after living in Australia and has contributed five goals, adding to four from Lawrie and fellow striker Ian Penwright.
His impact on the team is marked: he provides a physical presence up front and his shinty background means defenders face a unique challenge when facing the former Glengarry player.
“Dan’s made a big difference,” said Lawrie.
“He’s a strong target man and he’s the focal point of the team. When he’s on his game, no defence can live with him. He was outstanding against Fraserburgh last Saturday and if he plays well, he’s going to get goals.
“I’ve got four this season and if I can match last season, where I got nine, then I’ll be happy. But I’m playing back in midfield at the moment, so those scoring chances are maybe falling to other players.”
The turnaround in form from Polworth’s men has been stark; if they had come up against Buckie at the end of August, no-one would have given them a prayer.
But a run of just one defeat in 12 games, where a depleted squad lost 6-0 at Brora, sees them fighting out for a place in the top six.
In that time they have drawn 3-3 with Fraserburgh, held Wick Academy and Cove Rangers to goal-less draws, as well as taking points off Nairn, Lossiemouth, Turriff and Inverurie Locos.
“There’s been a huge turnaround and we’re probably more frustrated with ourselves for some of the points we’ve dropped,” said Lawrie. “It’s been a fantastic run and team morale is great just now.
“We were 3-1 down with 15 minutes to go against Fraserburgh and last season, we probably would have folded in that situation. But everyone is fighting for each other and we keep going until the final whistle.”
Clach will be without Martin Callum and Scott Maclean tomorrow, who are both on the long-term injury list.
Polworth expects Callum to be out for the majority of the season with ankle ligament damage, after he limped off in the first minute of the Scottish Cup loss to Stirling University.
Young defender Matty Grant also damaged ankle ligaments last week against Fraserburgh, adding to the Lilywhites’ selection headaches.
There has been some good news with the return of forward Stuart Leslie from his work off-shore, although work commitments may well keep out goalkeeper John Campbell again.
When the two sides met earlier in the season at Victoria Park, Buckie ran out 4-0 winners. Andy Low, Ceiran McLean and a McLeod double accounted for the goals that afternoon.
