Sharp’s frustration at wasteful Nairn County despite win at Strathspey Thistle
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Nairn County manager Ronnie Sharp has credited his defence for giving goalkeeper Dylan Maclean a quiet afternoon at Grantown.
Nairn ran out 2–0 winners against Strathspey Thistle thanks to goals from Fraser Dingwall and Scott Davidson, but Sharp felt the result could have been more comfortable if his players had taken their chances.
Instead he praised his backline for keeping Strathspey away from dangerous areas.
“We didn’t play that well, but we didn’t give up any chances,” Sharp explained.
“Our goalkeeper didn’t have any saves to make.
“We hit the post twice and then late on we missed two or three clear-cut chances as well.
“It could have been a bit more comfortable for us.
“Our defence did well. We got a clean sheet, I can’t ask any more of them, we were just a bit wasteful up front.”
Kenny McKenzie saw a shot cannon back off the woodwork after 16 minutes in a strong opening spell for Nairn.
It paid off after 22 minutes when Fraser Dingwall, who came into the side for the unavailable Adam Porritt, powered a header into the net after meeting a corner.
Strathspey tried to respond, but Gordon McNab hit the post from 20 yards.
The second half continued on just as the first had, but with the hosts keeping possession Nairn needed a second to put a stamp on their advantage.
Step up Davidson, who rifled a free kick into the top corner from 25 yards out with just over 20 minutes left on the clock.
Davidson then missed two chances to put the result beyond doubt.
But when Martin Duncan was shown a red card with five minutes to go, it was all over as a contest.
Sharp thinks his side could have done better though, adding: “We were coming off a good win against Inverurie so I don’t know if we went there expecting to win, that we could turn up and it would happen.
“We just huffed and puffed a bit to be honest.”
