Wick Academy 3-1 Buckie Thistle

Two goals from Marc MacGregor sank Buckie Thistle at Harmsworth Park, leaving them 10 points behind leaders Brechin with two games in hand.

Jags boss Graeme Stewart restored Sam Morrison and Cohen Ramsay to the back four, with Ryan Fyffe not one hundred percent fit and Dale Wood moving into midfield to replace the injured Max Barry. Scott Adams also replaced Jack MacIver, who was on the bench.

Peters had an early chance for the visitors when he broke clear on the right of the penalty area, but he chose to cut the ball back instead of shooting and Wick scrambled it clear.

Dale Wood then rifled a shot way over the crossbar from 25 yards on eight minutes.

Academy wide man Kyle Henderson brought a decent save from Tom Ritchie with a cracking free kick from wide on the right that swung in dangerously in the swirling wind.

Wick went ahead on 14 minutes, Marc Macgregor given too much space on the edge of the area and he turned and swept an excellent finish beyond Ritchie into the bottom left corner.

Lyall Keir got in behind the home back line five minutes later, but Williamson parried his low shot and Owen Harrold was alert to clear from the inrushing Scott Adams.

Ritchie made a flying save at his near post from Henderson’s inswinging corner, only for the young winger to curl a superb delivery from the following corner high into the net to make it two-nil.

Adams missed a great chance to pull one back two minutes later from close range, before Sam Pugh crashed a half volley over the bar from 20 yards.

Gordon MacNab was then played through by MacGregor on 35 minutes, but he miscued his shot tamely wide.

Peters cut inside an fired a shot straight at Williamson right on half time, as it remained advantage Wick at the break.

Marcus Goodall and Jack MacIver replaced Andy MacAskill and Dale Wood for the second period, but it was Wick who threatened again when MacGregor volleyed an effort straight at Ritchie from MacNab’s header down.

Jack Murray just failed to get on the end of a Sam Morrison ball into the box on the hour mark, then Keir delivered a cross to the front post that Peters just failed to get on the end of.

Goodall was next to find Peters with a ball into the penalty area, but the Jags number nine’s shot was well saved by Williamson.

Liam Harvey came on for Cohen Ramsay with 20 minutes remaining as Buckie continued to look for a way back into the match, Williamson doing well to punch clear from MacIver’s inswinging free kick from the left.

Morrison made a vital sliding clearance at the other end as Wick hit the visitors on the break, and it was MacGregor who struck again four minutes from the end, firing home a rebound for goal number three after Ritchie saved Jack Halliday’s piledriver from 20 yards.

Murray instantly pulled one back for Thistle with a fine finish into the far corner, but it was too little, too late and the home side claimed all three points.

A damaging defeat for the Jags, who missed too many opportunities in the first half and failed to handle the tricky conditions as well as their hosts.

Buckie Thistle: T. Ritchie; J. McCabe, S. Morrison, J. Murray, C. Ramsay (L. Harvey 70); D. Wood (M. Goodall 46), S. Pugh (c); S. Adams, A. MacAskill (J. MacIver 46), L. Keir; J. Peters.

Subs not used: S. Knight, E. Storrier, L. Mackinnon, H. Munro, R. Fyffe.

Scorer: J. Murray (87)