Lossie made the short journey east to Buckie this weekend for the Fisher Derby, and came close to causing something of an upset by taking a very early lead through David Blackhall, only to be pegged back and overtaken by a stronger home side who moved into top spot courtesy of two goals from Craig MacMillan and a second own goal in a week by Steven Dixon.

One of only two games to survive the weekends weather, the teams took to a pitch heavily sanded in places and only recently cleared of snow and penguins, as Buckie pulled out all the stops to ensure the game took place in a bid to overtake Inverurie Locos at the top of the pile.

Lossiemouth were evidently uninterested in Buckies potential to end the day in the number one position and promptly took the lead, much to everyones surprise. The Jags lost possession from centre to David BLACKHALL, who sprinted down the wing before coming inside and curling home a fine left footed strike past a statuesque Kevin Main. 19 seconds down, 5381 to go.

The pitch was doing a fine job of closing the sizeable gap in terms of league position between the sides, with both struggling to stay on their feet and play any kind of flowing football. Lossie were enjoying the conditions more than their hosts and could have scored a second. Kyle Stewart found himself through on goal with just Main to beat but struck his shot low at the former Lossie keepers legs and the ball was cleared.

Play continued to be stop-start, with a series of clumsy fouls and wayward passes occurring as the players struggled to get to grips with the frozen tundra of Victoria Park. Yellow ball after yellow ball bounced onto the roof of the stand, all preceded by players sliding through the patches of snow left on the pitch.

The home side eventually got back on level terms, with a well-worked set piece. David MacRae fired a ball into box and Craig MACMILLAN rose to nod home, with the Lossie players left looking at each other.

Half time – Buckie Thistle 1 Lossiemouth 1

The second half continued as the first had concluded, with the players uncomfortable on the playing surface and chances appearing less out of creativity and more from clumsiness. ‘Graceful’ is not a word that should be used to describe this game.

On the hour Buckie began to get their game together, assisted by the departure of the injured George Russell for Lossie, who had held the usually leaky defence together. The Jags took the lead soon after and, and in what is becoming an all too regular occurrence, it was a somewhat fortunate strike. Andy Low thumped a cross into the box and after several deflections, it finally found its way in off Steven DIXON, with MacMillan claiming the credit for having the last touch.

One goal was never going to be enough and Buckie soon scored a third to seal the win, with MACMILLAN grabbing his second of the afternoon with a low shot under Masterton with twenty minutes left.

The game was opening up, and Kyle Stewart and David Blackhall both had chances to make the remainder of the game interesting, the latter curling a cute chip over Kevin Mains head and onto the roof of the net. Buckie had the ball in the net a fourth time as the game ended, but Neil Davidsons strike was ruled out for offside.

Full time – Buckie Thistle 3 Lossiemouth 1

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