You either win, or you learn. One week ago, Banchory were on the wrong end of a 9-1 defeat to Banks O'Dee Albion. This week, Banchory faced another top team in Fraserburgh Link-Up and came away with a big result.

A fantastic second half performance from Banchory Pumas Under 17s was enough for the Deeside outfit to come out on top and restore their position at the top of the ADJFA A League heading into Christmas and the new year against an enthusiastic Fraserburgh who played some fantastic football at times.

It was third vs first with both sides taking the league by surprise this season, which is refreshing to see. Both sides played good football in testing conditions. With a lot of games postponed in the area, the advantages of shelter at the 4G surface at Mintlaw Academy made a huge difference.

Both sides had half chances in the early exchanges of the game with Owen Blackhall seeing a shot over the bar for the Broch whilst Cameron Findlay had a good effort for Banchory also falling over the top of Andrew Dunbar's goal.

Fraserburgh Link-Up were getting into some very good areas during the first half, with plenty of opportunities at the Banchory rearguard. Fraser Gardyne has to be thanked for some superb saves which, in the end, dictated the outcome of the result. Glen Wyness had a shot tipped round the post by Gardyne before Caden Beaton had a shot denied by the big goalkeeper. Owen Blackhall also had an effort which went wide of the left hand post.

Banchory had a good chance to open the scoring when Nathan McKeown intercepted the ball from Billy Crockett and the talented forward tried to lob Dunbar, however a good stop from the talented forward denied McKeown.

Link-Up took the lead on 25 minutes, a fantastic ball came into a dangerous area which was met by Matthew Beaton, who struck the ball home from close range to give Broch the best possible start. For all their attacking intent, this was a deserved lead from Fraserburgh.

One of the best moves of the game was a Fraserburgh clearance by Glen Wyness taking four keepie ups before producing a good defensive clearance, the Broch went into the interval with a goal to the good however there wasn't too much between the teams with both teams serving up a pulsating encounter.

Fraserburgh started the second half on a bright note and a good ball by Scott Murison found Callum Buchan whose effort went wide as the hosts went in search of more goals.

Caden Beaton had a good individual performance for the Broch and a good ball by the winger found Ewan Bloomfield, who shot over before Beaton played another good ball into Crockett, who volleyed into the side netting from close range.

Banchory weren't panicking, despite being behind during the midway point of the second half and on 72 minutes, the visitors were level when Guilherme Pais found Trevor Glansbeek and the talented forward found the top right hand corner with a good finish past Dunbar.

The Deeside outfit took the lead with five minutes to go when a corner kick wasn't dealt with and Glansbeek got his second goal of the game, knocking the ball home into the net. Banchory played fantastically in the second half and they worked really hard to get back in front against an organised Broch side.

There was still a long way to go in the contest and anything could have happened. On 90 minutes, Banchory increased their advantage to seal a big result for the league leaders. A good ball by Lewis Smith found Nathan McKeown who finished off a fine move by slotting home.

A big win for Banchory against Fraserburgh, who played well and will be a force to be reckoned with this term, unfortunately for the Broch it's their first league loss since September. Fraserburgh are putting a lot of impetus on development, rather than immediate success and the coaches and parents are already seeing the benefits. It's perfectly understandable to see why both these teams are near the top in such a keenly contested league.