Lossiemouth got off to a winning start in the new Scot-Ads Highland League with a defeat of Strathspey Thistle at Seafield Park. Last seasons bottom placed side held a narrow half time lead over the Coasters but a pair of goalkeeping errors handed goals to Tony Ross and Shawn Scott, one either side of a penalty miss by the latter.

Lossie were without Nikki Smith for the trip south and started with Stuart Strathdee and Shawn Scott up front. Kevin Stuart was unavailable due to injury while Ross Duncan made his first league start for the visitors. Strathspey had former Lossie man George Russell in the starting eleven as they went in search of their first win against Lossie in four attempts.

The sides met three times last season and, despite Lossie remaining unbeaten, there was little to choose between them. Strathspey looked by far the more comfortable as this game began to open up, while Lossie looked edgy in possession and indecisive when on the defensive. Despite that, the visitors were first to threaten in front of goal, when Strathdee meandered through the defence before forcing a save from MacDonald.

The game remained tight and chances rare. Lossie, although playing poorly, created the second when Ross Duncan played in Shawn Scott but the strikers shot hit the side netting.

Strathspey took the lead ten minutes before the interval. Darren McConnachie made a hash of a simple backpass from Urquhart, taking a heavy touch which allowed Damien GONZALES in to score.

The hosts were worth their lead and came close to doubling it before the interval. McConnachie flapped at a corner and the ball broke to Craig Ireland on the edge of the area, but his attempted lob landed on the roof of the net. McConnachie made amends minutes later when he made a fine save from a Gonzales header.

Half time - Strathspey Thistle 1 Lossiemouth 0

The second half was barely five minutes old when Lossie were handed the opportunity to level the scores. Gary Sutherlands manhandled Shawn Scott to the ground in the area and conceded a needless penalty. His shirt now ripped in half following the foul, Biscuits stepped up to take the penalty but could only scuff the ball into the arms of MacDonald.

Lossie were not disheartened by the miss and continued to press for an equaliser. Biscuits fired over from an angle before Kevin Flett rattled the crossbar with a powerful header. The substitution of George Russell opened up the middle of the park for Lossie and Strathspey found themselves on the back foot for most of the half.

With just over an hour gone, the equaliser arrived. A long free kick into the penalty area from Flett was troubling no one until MacDonald made a mess of collecting it, dropping it in front of Tony ROSS who could do nothing but score.

With seven minutes left another error handed Lossie a winner. A Sutherland backpass to MacDonald was shanked out wide by the keeper to Shawn SCOTT, who immediately fired the ball back into the Strathspey goal to secure all three points.

Due to a quirk in the fixture list Strathspey have a chance for an early revenge when the sides meet again in August, and Lossie will have to improve if they are to prevent a repeat of last years draw at Grant Park.

Teams

Lossiemouth - Darren McConnachie: Steven Sim, Kevin Flett, JJ Urquhart, Sam Milton, Martin McMullan, David Wilson, Kevin Grant, Shawn Scott, Stuart Strathdee, Ross Duncan
Strathspey Thistle - Gordon MacDonald: David Ritchie, Fraser Tulloch, Gary Sutherland, Craig Ireland, Joe Hardie, Sandis Reinsons, David Ross, Damien Gonzales, George Russell, Ross Mackay

Lossiemouth - Tony Ross (David Wilson, 58), Dan Smith (Kevin Grant, 71), Jamie Bagley (Ross Duncan, 82)
Strathspey Thistle - Roddy McPhee (Damien Gonzales, 62), Terry Swinton (George Russell, 71), Robbie Siegel (Sandis Reinsons, 78)

Lossiemouth - Garry Macdonald, Liam Archibald
Strathspey Thistle - Scott Hendry, Lindon O'Brien

Lossiemouth - Tony Ross (68), Shawn Scott (83)
Strathspey Thistle - Damien Gonzales (27)

Lossiemouth - None
Strathspey Thistle - None

Referee

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