Blue Toon boss Neale Cooper had asked his squad to put in the effort for Les, whom he said was a major part of the club and sorely missed by everyone.

And he was delighted when his team came away with a 4-1 victory at Gayfield Park, having put in what he described as an "excellent" performance.

Speaking to the Buchanie yesterday (Monday), Cooper said: "It was really a fantastic result for us on Saturday, particularly given the skeleton squad we had to work with.

"I had asked everyone for a big effort on Saturday given everything that's gone on with Les and I called for a big push for Les and that's exactly what the lads gave me.

"Les contributed so much to the club and loved the team and I asked the lads to have a think about that from now until the end of the season and to push for a play-off place.

"Obviously I wasn't sure what the performance would be like after the long lay-off, but they went out there and played their socks off and it was a great result for us," he said.



Cooper said the lads worked really hard and everyone did their job on the day.

He said that every one of the team deserved a mention, but gave credit to Barry Wilson, who played his first game for Peterhead since signing on last year and was "outstanding", according to Cooper.

"Barry gave us the quality we needed on that wide right area. He worked really hard for us and his experience and reading of the game and passing really showed," he said.

"Someone like that is vital and his performance was excellent. Davie Ross was out on the left to fill in for Graeme Sharp who was missing because of work, and he did exceptionally well too.

"We had a youngsters on the bench and that was it, that was everyone we had available, so to come away with a 4-1 win was just magic."

Cooper said it was hard to single out anyone, although he was impressed by the performance of 19-year-old Nicky Clark who was up front alongside Martin Bavidge.

"They combined really well together and put in a great performance," he said.

Peterhead now enjoy their first home game of the year with Dumbarton visiting Balmoor on Saturday in what Cooper admits will be another hard game.

"Yes, it will be another difficult game for us, but we have to carry on the same ethos on Saturday - and indeed in every game from now until the end of the season," said Cooper.

"I want the same commitment from the lads and hopefully we will give the home fans a great game and come away with all three points.

"I think it's been something like 45 days since we had a home match and the fans deserve to see some good football, so hopefully we will have a good crowd and give them another sterling performance," he added.