Nairn County seek recovery on Wednesday after Keith Highland League Cup blow
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STEVEN Mackay will demand a big reaction from Nairn County on Wednesday night after the bitter disappointment of Saturday’s Highland League Cup exit.
The Wee County manager was dismayed by a poor first half performance at Kynoch Park that paved the way for Keith’s ultimate 3-2 triumph in a competition that Mackay had viewed as ripe with opportunity for his team this season.
The North of Scotland Cup holds less prestige, but with the visit of Lossiemouth coming quickly after the weekend setback, Mackay will look for his players to make a statement.
From an undoubtedly tough opening sequence of matches, Nairn have managed just one win in six so far.
“It is very disappointing to go out of the Highland League Cup,” he said.
“It was a pretty open, close-fought game that could have gone either way, but they were far superior to us in the first half. We were probably lucky to go in only a goal down.
“But in the second half we played a lot better, created a lot of chances and hit the bar – chances you’d usually expect us to take.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t take them while we were on top and then got hit with a sucker-punch third goal.
“We talked at the start of the season about trying to get a good run and made a good start by winning up at Wick.
“I felt Saturday was a really good opportunity for us to advance and see what the draw brought, and that’s not being disrespectful to Keith.
“I really thought it was a winnable game, but it is done now and we just need to dust ourselves down for Wednesday night.
“The North of Scotland Cup doesn’t have as much prestige as the Highland League Cup but, equally, it’s still one you want to do well in.
“We’ve got an opportunity to bounce back quickly, which is good.
Lossiemouth will be disappointed with their weekend result as well.
So it will be two teams who are hurting and looking for a response.”
Jordan Cooper and James Brownie netted for Keith, with Fraser Dingwall and Andrew Macleod responding for Nairn, before Joey Wilson’s winner for the Maroons.
Mackay could ring the changes for tomorrow’s match, although he would much prefer to be fielding a settled side.
“That’s something we’ve probably done too frequently this season, given performances,” he added.
“We’ve been making wholesale changes each week, which is not where I want to be, although performances dictate that.”
