After yet another postponement last weekend, Peterhead were back in action on Saturday, travelling to Stenhousemuir. The Blue Toon had their work cut out for them, as the hosts had not lost a match at home since August and sat joint on points at the top of the league. Peterhead on the other hand were coming off the back of a sickening late defeat to Hamilton two weeks ago.
Three changes were made to the starting lineup for that game against Accies, with Danny Strachan, Cammy Smith and Josh Kerr, who was making his first start for the club, coming in from the off. Flynn Duffy and Seb Ross dropped to the bench, and Aaron Steele was out of the squad altogether with an injury.
The game started at a fast pace, which continued throughout the contest. Peterhead had a couple of chances in the opening stages, Dylan Forrest testing Jamieson in the Stenhousemuir goal with an effort from of the edge of the area on 5 minutes, which the keeper was equal to. Moments later, Craig McGuffie whipped a wonderful set-piece into the path of Kieran Shanks, but the Blue Toon striker was just unable to divert the cross on target. The hosts had a chance of their own not too long after, a ball only half cleared in the Peterhead box was met by full-back Meechan, but he fired wildly over Jack Newman’s crossbar.
Peterhead were unfortunately forced into making an early change, with Jack Brown taking a sore one and being replaced by Flynn Duffy on 16 minutes. This didn’t disrupt the flow of the Blue Toon’s game however, and the visitors took the lead on 32 minutes. Kieran Shanks ghosted in behind the Stenny defence, and was found by a lofted pass from Craig McGuffie in the midfield. Shanks took the ball in stride and took his time to steady himself, before coolly slotting the ball home.
Peterhead had the majority of the ball to see out the half, and proved a constant threat down both flanks. On another day, McGuffie would’ve had a tap-in on 40 minutes, following some sumptuous play down the left wing. Max Barry and Shanks combined well before Barry cut the ball back from the byline, but his pass was just too far ahead of the arriving McGuffie.
Half-time: Stenhousemuir 0-1 Peterhead
There were four bookings between the end of the first half and the start of the second. Both captains, Jason brown and Buchanan, were booked after arguments boiled over at the end of the first 45, which came about from a big penalty claim for Stenhousemuir. Craig McGuffie and Meechan were also booked once the players had headed down the tunnel.
The Blue Toon’s doubled their advantage just five minutes into the second half through Andy McCarthy. The midfielder timed his jump perfectly to meet a Craig McGuffie corner delivery, and nodded past Jamieson in goal.
Peterhead controlled the next half hour for the most part, with the visitors getting frustrated and a number of players talking their way into the referee’s book. There were very few chances to speak of for either side until the 84th minute, with the hosts struggling to break down the Blue Toon’s defence, and Peterhead more than happy to keep the ball when they had it. It was then, on 84 minutes, that Stenhousemuir got back into the game. A corner was met by the oncoming Aitken, whose header flashed beyond Newman and into the net. Barely a minute later, it was 2-2. O’Reilly drove down the right wing and delivered a perfect cross for Carrick to head home, and the game was all square once again.
Peterhead, despite the shock of conceding two in as many minutes, did not let their heads drop and looked for a winner. The best chance to claim all three points fell to Niall McGinn with only minutes to go. Danny Strachan’s cross was not cleared by Ewen and fell for McGinn, but the winger could not keep his effort under the bar. The Blue Toon threatened with a corner in the last phase of play of the game, but the ball was eventually cleared, and the points were shared.
Full-time: Stenhousemuir 2-2 Peterhead
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