Forres Mechanics 3 Forres Thistle 0: Lee Fraser's second-half hat-trick gives Cans win over Jags
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A SECOND-HALF hat-trick from Lee Fraser gave Forres Mechanics a 3-0 win over local rivals Forres Thistle on Tuesday evening.
The game was goalless at the break, before Fraser came off the bench to bag a volley, a one-on-one and a header for the Mosset Park side.
Mechanics manager Charlie Rowley was happy enough with his team’s performance, while Thistle manager Tony Ross was pleased with his side’s first half showing.
Rowley said: “We played pretty well in possession and were never under any real threat.
“I’m not saying they weren’t in the game but we dealt with what they had well.
“We never used our dominance as we were hoping for and should have been better in front of goal, but Lee came on and had pretty much an instant impact.
"We didn't alter the way we were playing after half-time, but we were not as wasteful
“Thistle were honest, hard-working and had a decent enough shape.”
The Jags hit the post in the second half but were sucker-punched after conceding the second goal within a minute of the first. Overall, though, there were positives to take from the match for manager Tony Ross.
He said: “It was a good performance in the first half, although it was more workman-like.
“We didn’t have too many chances but it was more about setting up in a 451 formation and trying to frustrate them and to a certain extent that worked.
“It was always going to be tough with a striker of Lee Fraser’s quality coming on at half-time but slack marking but gifted them a goal and then they got the second straight from kick off. Within the space of 30 seconds it went from 0-0 to 2-0 and all our hard work was gone. That was a bit of a sickener.
"But I’m more than happy enough with the performance."
Next up for Mechanics is Burghead Thistle on Saturday afternoon.
Forres Thistle, who have also lost 7-2 to Lossiemouth and 4-0 to Nairn County, are now set to take a month off while awaiting further news on their league season.
