The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Brown vows Blue Toon will recover
Peterhead comanager Jordon Brown is vowing the Blue Toon will bounce back stronger after a sobering defeat to Spartans ended his team’s promotion aspirations.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg in Edinburgh, hopes were high the Balmoor men could overturn the deficit and book their place in the League One play-off final.
However, it turned out to be a nightmare afternoon for Peterhead as Spartans coasted to an emphatic 5-1 victory and a 7-2 aggregate win. It was a tough way to round off a first full season in charge for Brown and fellow joint-boss Ryan Strachan but the Blue Toon co-boss tried to stay positive.
Brown said: “We stood in front of the players 12 months ago after being relegated and said ‘Never have that feeling here again’. Now we have got to bottle as much as we can from this disappointment to not have that feeling next season.
“We hope 90% of our dressing room will be here beyond the summer and we will add to it and try to kick on.
“We will lose a couple of the loan boys and everyone hopes Hamish Ritchie will sign a new contract so that he can be a key player for us again. We are still working on that in the background and don’t forget the turnover of players we had last year.
“Mentality and attitudewise, we have been different class all season so we need to build on that. There is no point taking all the credit all year and then letting a negative like this affect us going forward.”
Blair Henderson’s hattrick helped Spartans claim a resounding 5-1 win at Balmoor.
In front of an expectant crowd, they made the worst possible start as Cammy Russell pounced on a defensive mix-up to strike inside three minutes. Henderson, whose late spot-kick had given Spartans the upper hand from the first match, then sent a header past Stuart McKenzie as Peterhead’s hopes began to fade fast.
The visitors were ruthless and they took full advantage of a swift counter-attack in the 62nd minute, Bradley Whyte scoring their third.
Danny Strachan’s fine effort three minutes later was Peterhead’s sole highlight but when Jason Brown was sent off for blocking a goalbound shot with his arm and conceding a penalty, Henderson duly dispatched the spot-kick to inflict more misery.
There was still time for the prolific Henderson to go home with the match ball as he claimed his treble with 12 minutes remaining.
Spartans will now face Dumbarton in the play-off final for the right to play in the third tier.
Jordon Brown added: “We had the disappointment in the last minute on Tuesday but we recovered well and were ready. We trust this group and I could not be more proud of them. Everyone has made a contribution but ultimately football can come down to fine margins and we have fallen short.”
Meanwhile, Peterhead have confirmed the departure of midfielder Conor O’Keefe. The 25-yearold scored 12 goals in 61 games for the Balmoor club after joining the club in July 2022.
The winger is heading to Australia and co-manager Jordon Brown paid tribute to the ex-Elgin City player. He said: “It’s really sad for everyone to lose Jinky but he was up front and honest with us a few months ago and has never let that affect him or the group.
“It’s not the way him or any of us wanted to go out but his goal contributions and performances this season since we have been in charge speak for themselves and in his whole time at Peterhead it has been a pleasure to be his teammate and manager.”