November 20th 2023
GARY Kerr struck a double with Jordan Macrae and Wayne Mackintosh also on the scoresheet as Nairn County eased into the quarter finals of the North of Scotland Cup and manager Ronnie Sharp felt it was a trouble-free afternoon for his side. He said: "It was a comfortable win for us but our finishing was still not up to scratch. We move on to the next round, where we are going to have to take the chances when we get them. We need to sharpen up our finishing up." "I thought we created quite a few chances in the first half and did not take them but we were comfortable going in at 2-0 up. The last time we went down to Grantown, we could not score at all after creating a lot of chances but I thought we were comfortable the whole game today and I do not think our goalkeeper had a save to make. That is a good sign and defensively, we were good. We just need to sharpen up the finishing." Macrae struck early on to give Nairn the ideal start before Kerr added a second with a brave header. Mackintosh then stroked home a penalty just six minutes into the second half before Kerr completed his brace. Sharp added: "The goal just after half time changed the thought process of the game. We were delighted to score at the start of each half and it settled us down. We played well and it was a tricky pitch because it was bone dry, which made it a bit bouncy but you should expect that with the weather we have been having just now." "It was difficult but we kept the ball well. We dominated the midfield, which was the crucial thing. We scored four goals and did not lose any, which was good, especially after the Forres game a couple of weeks." County now look forward to a home tie with Brora Rangers on April 29th at Station Park. "They seem to be the form team in the league just now," Sharp stated. "They are scoring a lot of goals and putting teams under a lot of pressure. Earlier in the season, we went there and got a 3-3 draw, so we know we can put them under pressure, which we are going to have to do if we want to win the game. We will also have to take the chances we create." Graeme Macleod
