Jags boss Esson says TV replay of Brechin drubbing was not as bad as he feared
Strathspey Thistle boss Ryan Esson has watched back the 7-0 defeat to Highland League leaders Brechin City - and it was not the horror show he might have been expecting.
The Jags manager saw signs of encouragement certainly in the first half before the visitors imploded after the break.
Thistle were trailing by just the two goals at the interval but injury to key players and fitness told against their sharper opponents.
Dayle Robertson helped himself to a hat-trick with goals in the 28th, 55th and 61st minutes.
Lewis Martin had got the opener for the Hedgemen after 14 minutes but the floodgates did not open at Glebe Park.
However, it was sadly a different story after the break with Marc Scott (58th) and a Ewan Loudon double (73rd and 87th) doing the damage.
Esson admitted that he was bracing himself for a tough watch when he replayed the game.
“I have watched it back and it was better than I had thought.” he said. “We had a decent shape and we had huge moments to exploit them but we didn’t.
“Against the better teams like Brechin and Brora you have to make the most of your opportunities.”
The gaffer was disappointed with the first two goals despite being happy with the performance in the opening half.
“We lost the first goal to a set piece - it was not that they opened us up. It was a poor decision and they score.”
But he has taken heart and will be working with the team to make the most of their opportunities on the break.
He said: “We need to add more quality in the final third. We had opportunities to get in behind Brechin and we could have caused them problems.
“But our final ball or decision with the pass we got wrong.
“However, in terms of our shape and what we were trying to do - not to get broken down too much - we were better than what we have been in the first half.
“When I watch back the first 45 minutes we were much more disciplined than we have been.
“The second goal we should have dealt with better. Ali (Nixon) has headed the ball and it has gone up in the air and then they get a goal from the deflection.
“It is tough to take when both goals are preventable.
“But we had moments that we could have exploited a lot better.”
In the second half the Jags lost key players to injury early on whilst captain James McShane battled on after taking a heavy knock in a challenge with Brechin City keeper Carmody.
James Lee Fraser and Josh Race both had to go off, however, as they were struggling with knocks.
The on-loan Aaron Nicolson only lasted the first 10 minutes of the second period after taking a blow to his ankle in what was his last game of a short loan spell from Linlithgow.
”Four injuries to four key players started to kill us and out fitness started to go which meant that we were losing our shape,” said Esson.
“We were no longer compact as we had been in the first half and unable to utilise the space in behind them. We ran out of steam and it all became a bit messy.”
He was disappointed that his side fizzled out and never created any chances after the break, adding: “Conceding seven and eight is certainly not what we want.”
