July 15th 2024
RONNIE Sharp is dismayed at the regression of his side in recent weeks and plans major changes following today's 4-1 defeat at Fraserburgh. The two sides were level at the break after Fraserburgh had enjoyed the majority of the chances during the opening 45 minutes but just eight minutes after the turnaround, the hosts found themselves two goals to the good. Jordan MacRae hauled Nairn back into it by netting a free kick but two Broch goals in the final 10 minutes sealed the victory that took Mark Cowie's men back to the top of the Highland League table. "We are back to the drawing board," said Sharp. "We are nearly halfway through the season and we are nowhere near the team we were at the start of the season." "We need to find a way of playing that will make us competitive in games because we are not competitive at the moment. We are probably going to have to change the system and work on it now because otherwise, the season will disappear in front of us." "The effort is there from the players and I cannot fault them for their work rate but we need to do something to compete in games." He added: "We are just giving goals every week now and it is through big errors individually. It was only with a bit of luck that we went in level at 0-0 at half time because they created a lot of chances but never took any." "In the second half, we thought we would get them in at half time, regroup and we made a change but within 10 minutes, we were 2-0 down. It was just a lack of communication again and a lack of organisation. Overall, it was a poor performance from us." Despite being on the back foot for most of the first half, Nairn had one of the best chances of the opening period but Liam MacDonald side-footed Jordan MacRae's pass wide of the target from just eight yards before Dylan Mackenzie could only blast Gary Kerr's cut back straight at the goalkeeper shortly after County had gone two goals down. "It is something we have been struggling with all season," Sharp stated. "As I said, we can put the effort in but decision-making is what football is all about and we do not do it." "We had a big chance to get to 2-1 one not long after they had gone 2-0 up and then Jordan scored the free kick after that. But if we are going to give goals away like we did today then we are going to struggle. It did not really happen for the first 10 games of the season but now it has totally crept in. The work rate is fine but the decision-making and passing was not up to it today." Fraserburgh's first goal was a moment to forget for the visitors with Willie West looping the ball over advancing Nairn goalkeeper Stephen Foster at the edge of the box. It dropped in the goalmouth but instead of being cleared, it was left to bounce by the retreating defenders and that allowed Paul Campbell to pounce and blast the hosts in front. Sharp said: "The lack of communication has let us down. You do not let it bounce in the six-yard box – you deal with it. But the second one was the same. The free kick has come in from a long way away and the decision-making between the goalkeeper and the centre backs is lacking – nobody took a bit of responsibility and we found ourselves 2-0 down." "The third goal was a free kick and it was an excellent bit of skill that you cannot do anything about but we gave them the fourth one when we were caught on the ball at the edge of the box, which was another poor decision." Graeme Macleod
