Lossiemouth ended their unplanned and unwelcome winter break by hosting Keith at Grant Park on Saturday. An entertaining game saw Lossie lead through Shawn Scott before the hosts levelled and went ahead in the second half, only for Sean McIntosh to come off the bench to scramble a deserved point for Lossie.

Darren McConnachie started in goals for Lossiemouth, while winter arrival Craig Patello took a seat on the bench. Darren Still took charge of Keith as manager for the first time and chose to omit himself from the squad, preferring to keep an eye on his troops from the dugout.

The previous match between the sides proved a big ask of referee Thomas Shaw, but he was back in the middle for this one, keeping a lower profile than before and allowing the teams to get on with it.

Keith wasted no time in putting together a spell of pressure, Graham Lonie striking the bar from outside the area before Cammy Keith forced a save from McConnachie.

Fifteen minutes in, Lossie took the lead. A corner from the enclosure side was flicked into the six yard box by John Urquhart, and Shawn SCOTT acrobatically flicked the ball over his shoulder and into the net.

Both sides enjoyed possession from that point on but neither could force a save from the goalkeepers. Lossie came through the middle of the park via Flett, Milton and Urquhart but could not breach the Keith defence a second time. A through ball to Shawn Scott forced Andy Shearer to race to the edge of the area but he cleared in time.

Keith were back level minutes before the interval. A slip by Craig Donaldson outside the Lossie penalty area allowed Cammy KEITH time to compose himself before chipping a diving McConnachie.

Half time – Lossiemouth 1 Keith 1

As the rain continued to fall, Keith almost stole into the lead. Cammy Keith stole into the box to receive a pass from Jamie Lennox, but was put off by Steven Sim and could only prod the ball onto the base of the post, and McConnachie cleared.

At the other end, Lossie had chances courtesy of Dan Smith and Kevin Flett. Smith saw his shot from 18 yards blocked and held by Shearer, and Flett was presented with a set piece in front of goal, only to slice the ball out of the ground.

Just before the hour, Keith took the lead. Jamie Lennox curled a ball across goal and Sean KEITH was able to deflect it home to score, despite the protests from the home side for an offside decision.

The game continued to progress in the middle of the park, with neither side looking like adding to their goals scored tally. Keith came closest in the closing minutes, Sean Keith crossing for his brother with just too much pace.

Into injury time the game went, the referee somehow finding five minutes extra to play, before Lossie scored the goal they deserved to snatch a point. Sean MCINTOSH, he of the famous last minute winner against Inverurie Locos, stepped up to level the scores with a cheeky shot in off the post.

While the players may not have viewed this game specifically with revenge in mind, the Lossie support did, and the equaliser went a long way towards erasing the memory of the heartbreaking final minute of the game earlier in the season. That it happened in front of one of Keith’s biggest travelling supports in some time, a thoroughly patronising one at that, made it all the sweeter.

Full time - Lossiemouth 2 Keith 2

Teams

Lossiemouth - Darren McConnachie: Steven Sim, Sam Milton, Craig Donaldson, Kevin Stuart, Martin McMullan, Tony Ross, Dan Smith, Shawn Scott, JJ Urquhart, Kevin Flett
Keith - Andy Shearer: Jonathan Watt, Graham Lonie, Wayne Mackay, Kris Niddrie, Phil McCall, Stuart Walker, Daniel Park, Cammy Keith, Jamie Lennox, Sean Keith

Lossiemouth - Jamie Bagley (Kevin Flett, 65), Craig Patello (Tony Ross, 75), Sean McIntosh (JJ Urquhart)
Keith - Gary Harris (Jamie Lennox, 67), Richard Craig (Daniel Park, 82),

Lossiemouth - None
Keith - None

Referee

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