Appearances & Goals To Date

Ewen MacDonald (GK)		3 apps	-
Johnny Crawford		35 apps	2 goals
Stuart Smith		106 apps	10 goals
Calum Dingwall		68 apps	5 goals
Stuart Anderson		88 apps	20 goals
Callum Bagshaw		76 apps	10 goals
Hamish Munro		67 apps	3 goals
Graeme Rodger		39 apps	12 goals
Neil Gauld		35 apps	16 goals
Scott Barbour		37 apps	16 goals
Garry Wood		38 apps	29 goals
Max Berton (sub)		11 apps	-
Neil McVitie (sub)		67 apps	14 goals
Cammy Keith (sub)		101 apps	70 goals

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Without the slightest disrespect to reigning champions Brora Rangers, it is looking increasingly like the run in to the title is going to be a two horse race between United and Cove Rangers who, to add to the tension and dramatic potential have yet to play each other. Although there is every possibility of twists and turns to come, the outcome of that game still looks like being a league decider. Formartine have been in the position of being guaranteed the championship (apart the little proviso of having to win all outstanding games) for several weeks, but now of the other 17 clubs in the league, only Cove remain in the same position as United. They could get by with a draw against United who need outright victory to tie on points but enjoy, currently, a significant advantage in goal difference.

Although Huntly have had an indifferent season to date, they are seen as a side whose fortunes are on the rise and after running Brora close in a five goal midweek thriller there were a few who saw the potential for a United banana skin here. However, the current United side are made of sterner stuff and produced a disciplined professional performance that emphasised the gulf in class between a side emerging from the doldrums and one with the bit between its teeth in serious contention in the last stages of the title race. Not to put too fine a point on it, Formartine were in control from start to finish. They started on the offensive and hit Huntly with organised pace and aggression that the Christie Park boys struggled not to match but simply to cope with.

From the start United flooded forward with Anderson neatly playing in Bagshaw down the inside right channel from where he thumped in a drive that told keeper Pennycook that he was in for a busy afternoon. A minute later, it was Gauld who played in Bagshaw for a header that went just over the top. It was already clear that Anderson was in the mood to dictate events in the middle of the park and with Rodger, Bagshaw and Barbour feeding off him, a copious supply was provided for Gauld and Wood up top.

The mercurial Gauld was proving a nightmare for the home back four: he was just too quick and nimble for them and two goals from him in as many minutes really rammed home United’s intent. After the rampaging Wood had had a decent header deflected to safety and a thumping drive blocked by the keeper, GAULD bagged his brace. The first, in the 22nd minute followed a period of sustained United pressure. A moment’s indecision between Lawson and the keeper was all it took for the striker to nip in between them, nick the ball and bury it in the back of the net. A minute later he was at it again: this time the strike was the end product of quick thinking and even quicker passing from Anderson to Wood head-flicked the ball on to Gauld all of forty yards out. After-burners alight, Gauldy outstripped defenders to make up enough ground to get in range to absolutely hammer an unstoppable shot beyond the reach of the keeper.

He was clearly up for a hat trick and came within a whisker of completing it with a virtual replica of that goal – again Wood head flicked the ball onto him and again he beat the keeper with a crashing drive but this time the ball smacked off the bar to safety. Still the Formartine storm troops rolled forward through Huntly territory Wood whose finishing carries awesome power is also a highly capable architect of goals delivered by others and after setting up Bagshaw for a decent mid -range pop that stretched but just failed to beat the over-worked Pennycook, he went close himself with a measured drive.

Sustaining their remarkable tempo United had the result pretty well sealed by the 31st minute with a move that started centrally and developed down the left was begun by Roger playing in Barbour to blast down the flank to get the ball across to full back DINGWALL who was perfectly placed and absolutely alert to the possibility of getting the ball at the back post and driving it home for number three which he did – immaculately.
With all the pressure and momentum United maintained there was always going to be the risk of getting caught at the back which did happen, well against the run of play, just after Dingwall scored. Murison found DUNCAN with a decent enough through ball and the forward made the best of his limited opportunities by banging the ball past MacDonald from the edge of the box.

Formartine resumed normal service and Bagshaw, Rodger, Gauld and Wood all went close or had shots beaten, away, parried or blocked by the keeper. Huntly directors will be relieved that he is on a term contract because piece-work rates for his performance would be exorbitant. One way or another Huntly did enough to see out the half at 3-1 the only surprises being that United hadn’t scored even more and that despite their utter dominance they conceded a goal.
The second half was much the same as the first although Huntly had their moments particularly early on: Scoular got in a crisp shot that MacDonald dealt with competently before United having drawn out the visitors, set out to increase their lead. Barbour set off down the wing before swinging over a cross that Mark Lawson headed away for an unrewarded corner. A couple of powerful runs down the right by Munro left defenders training in his wake. The first foray ended with a venomous volley by Gauld bringing an outstanding save from Pennycook and the next concluded with Lawson making a clearing header.

In the 51st minute, Wood who had the guile and the muscle to boss the box got onto the score sheet: a foul on Anderson wide right yielded a free from which Crawford found Wood who brushing off the attentions of defenders turned to hammer a vicious shot high into the left corner of the net for 4-1.

Five minutes later, Wood who is suspended for the midweek game against Cove was replaced by Keith who had a couple of close run things: including a loopy shot that was touched onto the bar by the keeper before being desperately hacked away by Johnson and a drive after a cross from Berton that was just held by Pennycook.

The final piece in the jigsaw was an on goal from the highly pressurised Mark Lawson. Rodger made a powerful run down the right and offloaded a powerful drive which looked on target but in an attempt to block/clear it, Lawson succeeded only in deflecting it into his own net beyond any chance of his keeper intervening.

The pressure continued for the remaining 18 minutes and after a lunge at Crawford by McNamee did enough damage for the superb central defender to be withdrawn and as all subs had been deployed United faced the challenge of protecting their lead with depleted manpower. They did so fairly comfortably.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie

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