Forres Mechanics 0 - 5 Formartine United

League - HFL
Saturday, November 14th, 2015, 3:00 PM at Mosset Park, Forres
Attendance: 220
Referee: Graham Fraser
Forres Mechanics v Formartine United, Nov 14th 2015, Mosset Park, Forres
Forres Mechanics Formartine United 

Goalscorers
None. Stuart Smith (3)
Scott Barbour (33)
Cammy Keith (43)
Neil Gauld (79)
Scott Barbour (90)

Team Managers
Charlie Rowley Kris Hunter

Starting Eleven
Stuart Knight
Graeme Grant
Scott Moore
Lee Fraser
Chris Blackett
Craig McGovern
Duncan Jones
Steven Fraser
Dachi Khutsishvilli
Gordon Finlayson
Andrew Howard
Andy Reid
Jamie Michie
Calum Dingwall
Stuart Smith
Jamie Masson
Graeme Rodger
Paul Lawson
Scott Barbour
Neil Gauld
Cammy Keith
Garry Wood

Bench
Liam Baxter
Aaron McLellan
Fraser Forbes
Connor MacIver
Owen Paterson
Steven Simpson
Ewen MacDonald
Stuart Anderson
Callum Bagshaw
Max Berton
Cammy Booth

Substitutions
Fraser Forbes for Chris Blackett (77)
Aaron McLellan for Andrew Howard (84)
None.

Bookings
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.

Appearances & Goals To Date
Andy Reid (GK) 21 apps -
Jamie Michie 12 apps -
Calum Dingwall 52 apps4 goals
Stuart Smith 89 apps6 goals
Jamie Masson 10 apps1 goal
Graeme Rodger 22 apps9 goals
Paul Lawson 21 apps5 goals
Scott Barbour 22 apps9 goals
Neil Gauld 18 apps6 goals
Cammy Keith 87 apps64 goals
Garry Wood 21 apps12 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Calum Dingwall (22 years 275 days)
Oldest Player:Jamie Masson (32 years 231 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 126 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Cammy Booth (19 years 40 days)
Oldest Player:Jamie Masson (32 years 231 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 305 days
Domestic Players:16 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Scott Barbour reached 10 goals for the Club.
Scott Barbour reached 10 goals for the Club.

Formartine frequently fail to find their finest form at Forres and when the faithful looked at their favourites’ line up for this encounter, there must have been some anxiety. A run of injuries, added to the suspension of the uber - reliable centre back, Crawford meant significant changes to the back four, midfield and forward line. The continued absence of McKeown and McVitie at the rear meant that only Stuart Smith of the “normal” back four started the game while a last minute injury- driven swap in midfield saw the still recovering Anderson slot in for the hitherto ever-present Lawson while the forward line continued to operate without Gary Wood who had been switched to defensive duties. Forres must surely have fancied their chances, but this generation of the Formartine squad proved that it had the grit and graft to overcome such deficits and put together a performance fit to boss proceedings from start to finish and provide their biggest ever victory margin at Mosset Park.

With three changes to the usual back four, attack was always going to be a major plank in defensive strategy and it took no more than 3 minutes for the value of this to be demonstrated when left back SMITH, on the back of a typically belligerent excursion down the flank into opposition territory, bagged the opener and really set the platform from which his side would go on to dominate. Formartine established control very early on: a charge into opposition territory had ended with an accurate but tentative shot by Barbour that was comfortably taken by Knight before the move that got the goal. The first corner of the game was headed on by Smith to Rodger who cleverly chipped the ball back to Smith who had made himself the space from which to thump the ball home.

Formartine continued a high pressure pressing game and were clearly slicker than their hosts. Masson and Anderson combined regularly and well to feed Gauld and Barbour ahead and there was fairly sustained pressure on the Forres rearguard. Forres were largely restricted to a counter punching role but showed at times some menace in it. Lee Fraser combined with Steven of the same ilk to produce a nasty glancing header that slipped just past Reid’s right upright in the 14th minute. For all that Formartine were in control, Forres still needed careful watching. A Gauld, Anderson Barbour interchange left Forres floundering and the final ball from Barbour left Knight floundering but landed on the roof of the net.

A passage of midfield play rewarded neither side beyond the odd misplaced pass transferring possession from one to the other. Forres were trying to stabilise enough to get back on terms but United were having none of it and were always that bit sharper in getting the ball forward. Masson showed this in the 33rd minute by mounting a charge from twenty odd yards inside his own half through the middle to the inside left channel to set up BARBOUR to leather the ball viciously past Knight for number two.

Mechanics tried to claw their way back into it and showed some flashes of menace and Lee Fraser had a pop from distance but was wide of the mark while Formartine were sustaining more pressure. Anderson and Rodger combined well to create a bit of an opening for the latter before he was crowded out by a flock of defenders but barely a minute later Rodger was back at it but combining this time with Gauld whose final shot was deflected to safety by Jones. The pressure was on and Formartine were clearly intent on wrapping things up by taking the all important third goal before the interval. Forres could see this but lacked the capacity to prevent it and with Formartine fire power in the shape of Gauld and Keith they were having a rather torrid time. A rather understruck pass from Howard to Fraser was just the kind of error that sustained pressure produces and the predatory KEITH was onto it in a flash and slipped the ball under the advancing Knight and into the net before Forres could even think of remedying the situation..

Forres started the second period intent on salvaging something from the game and a wee opening flurry saw a Howard and Lee Fraser combination yielding a firm header under defensive pressure from Wood that Reid saved competently. Their strategy was to attempt a high defensive line and press from there. Formartine were not so keen on this ploy and responded by very competently keeping the ball away from them. By shuffling the ball around with some class and flare they left the opposition chasing shadows and utterly dominated the possession statistics. They were in charge and in a position to pick and choose their moments to attack. The game as a spectacle began to fade somewhat in the light of Formartine’s possession tactics and although under no pressure they did not look like seriously extending their lead until after the subs came on. They were in complete control of midfield and there was always the sense that Barbour, Gauld and Keith could burst into explosive action at any moment. When the pacy Berton and goal hungry Booth came on the attacking impetus increased. In the 83rd minute the increasingly influential Dingwall pushing forward from his right back berth charged down the flank before hoisting the ball over to GAULD at the back stick who immediately slotted the ball home.

Booth was out to make an impression and against a leg weary Forres side did just that and within a couple of minutes had decent shots dealt with by the home keeper. The final nail in the Mechanics coffin was hammered home in the last minute of normal time. The super fast Berton was too much for Forres to contain and he set off scorching down the left before clipping the ball inside to Keith who immediately moved it on to BARBOUR who promptly whacked it into the net.

This was a highly competent Formartine performance and in the circumstances of their catalogue of injury woes demonstrated the depth of talent in the squad. To face Forres with a reduced squad is never easy but to do so and put five past them and keeping a clean sheet to boot is a highly impressive achievement.

Match report by Colin Keenan