Wick Academy 0 - 1 Formartine United

League - HFL
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016, 8:00 PM at Harmsworth Park, Wick
Attendance: 350
Referee: Billy Baxter
Wick Academy v Formartine United, Mar 23rd 2016, Harmsworth Park, Wick
Wick Academy Formartine United 

Goalscorers
None. Garry Wood (69)

Team Managers
Gordon Connelly Kris Hunter

Starting Eleven
Sean McCarthy
Michael Steven
Grant Steven
Gary Manson
Alan Farquhar
Sam Mackay
James McLean
Steven Harrison
Davie Allan
Gary Weir
Richard MacAdie
Andy Reid
Johnny Crawford
Calum Dingwall
Stuart Smith
Jamie Masson
Stuart Anderson
Hamish Munro
Callum Bagshaw
Graeme Rodger
Neil Gauld
Garry Wood

Bench
Danny McCarthy
Colin Macrae
Alan Hughes
Marc Macgregor
Ryan Campbell
Brandon Sinclair
Ewen MacDonald
Jamie Michie
Max Berton
Neil McVitie
Scott Barbour
Cammy Keith

Substitutions
Marc MacGregor for Gary Weir (72)
Alan Hughes for Richard MacAdie (79)
Scott Barbour for Jamie Masson (59)
Cammy Keith for Neil Gauld (68)

Bookings
Davie Allan (58) Garry Wood (10)
Stuart Anderson (28)
Callum Bagshaw (90)
Scott Barbour (90)

Red Cards
None. None.

Appearances & Goals To Date
Andy Reid (GK) 35 apps -
Johnny Crawford 33 apps2 goals
Calum Dingwall 66 apps4 goals
Stuart Smith 104 apps10 goals
Jamie Masson 25 apps2 goals
Stuart Anderson 86 apps20 goals
Hamish Munro 65 apps3 goals
Callum Bagshaw 74 apps10 goals
Graeme Rodger 37 apps11 goals
Neil Gauld 33 apps14 goals
Garry Wood 36 apps27 goals
Scott Barbour (sub) 35 apps15 goals
Cammy Keith (sub) 99 apps70 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Calum Dingwall (23 years 40 days)
Oldest Player:Jamie Masson (32 years 361 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 287 days
Domestic Players:10 (90.91 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ewen MacDonald (20 years 25 days)
Oldest Player:Jamie Masson (32 years 361 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 189 days
Domestic Players:16 (94.12 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

This game may yet emerge as one of Formartine’s most critical of the season and again, depending on the outcome of the few remaining matches, to have been scarcely worth the enormous effort of a ten hour bus trip and players begging time off work. Either way, it still represents a considerable achievement: points are always hard to come by at Harmsworth Park and to lift all three, in such circumstances demonstrates unequivocally, United’s commitment to their pursuit of the title. Wick, for their part, made United fight tooth and nail every inch of the way for victory in a game which until the dying minutes, could well have gone either way.

Formartine started the first half on the front foot but finished on the back. Initially, they were getting some success down the flanks and showed some decent, overlapping play in the process. Dingwall, Munro and Masson did much of the fetch and carry in this and it wasn’t long before United had Academy pinned back into their own final third. The pressure was sustained through a series of corners and a couple of near(ish) misses by Gauld but although they generally made heavy weather of it, Wick successfully cleared their lines. Anderson as default and Wood intermittently patrolled the edge of the area and repeatedly picked up attempted clearances and lumped them back into the mix. For the first fifteen minutes or so United were definitely getting the better of their hosts as far as possession and territory were concerned and although keeper McCarthy was not worked that hard he did have to pick the ball out of the net in the 17th minute after Gauld reacted first to nod home a Masson free kick from right of centre. Given the fact that there were a couple of defenders goal side of him when the free was taken the off-side decision met with little approval by the striker.

As the half progressed Wick began to roll out their attacking “down the hill” plan which consisted of a two pronged approach with a pair pushing down the flank while two or more broke a fraction later through the middle. That, allied to some quite skilled inter-passing between Mackay, McLean, Harrison and Allan brought Wick well back into the game. In the 22nd minute some triangular passing between this lot brought in Weir to offload a useful 15 yard drive that was taken with minimum fuss by Andy Reid.

This marked something of a turning in the tide of first half fortunes and much more of the game than formerly was being played in United territory. Wick never really had United pinned back for longish periods as United had earlier done to them but preferred instead to mount repeated waves of sweeping attacks. However Crawford was playing out of his skin and reading Wick intentions with uncanny prescience picked them off one by one and Reid wasn’t seriously troubled. The other effect of this change in the pattern of play is that it gave Formartine the chance to show that they too were no slouches at hitting hard and fast on the break, but Wick had the nous and the physical capability to contain these too. As the interval approached it was clear that, by and large these teams were cancelling each other and stalemate was a distinct possibility. At the very least, the game, by no means boring or uncompetitive, still needed a goal to prevent that outcome.

United began the second period as they had the first – harrying and pressing the Wickers, but there was a subtle difference their attacks seemed broader based, using both flanks and developing from deeper than before. It is impossible to say whether this was brought about by a tactical decision from Formartine or because Wick’s approach pushed them there, but it by and large gave United the upper hand, not by a lot, but just enough to shade it for long enough to suggest that they might get the win they so desperately sought. Wick did well around the fringes of the box to constrain the power of Wood and the wiles of Gauld but once or twice United did get away from Manson and Farquhar. A break down the left initiated by Smith and Bagshaw got the ball over to the other side where Rodger struck the ball hard and low, right to left towards the far post area. Wood wrong footed the keeper at the near post with a dummy but the ball sneaked an inch wide of the back stick on its way out.

Formartine pressure was in general, greater than Wick’s but they, too, had their moments. Allan had a shot from the left corner of the box parried by Reid and lumped away by Munro and MacAdie went not all that high and wide from similar range. Bagshaw had a few forceful runs that sucked in defenders but generally they did enough to crowd out any final pass. The game changed in the 71st minute when United got the reward of their industry and patience with a well worked goal. Barbour had just replaced Masson and made his first significant contribution with a break down the left that took him trickily past Steven and Farquhar to a point from which he could put the ball to the feet of Rodger who produced an inch perfect cross to the head of WOOD who headed the ball with lethal power and consummate precision past the outstretched right hand of McCarthy and into the net from twelve yards out.

This was a precious lead for United and they knew how to look after it. They did not sit back but continued to attack while taking care not to lose shape and over commit in the process. They did enough of this to keep Academy well occupied in their own territory for most of the remaining minutes. Over the last 5 or 10 of them, they increasingly knocked the ball into wide areas and worked hard to keep it there. They managed this competently enough to run down the clock and lift all the points.

Match report by Colin Keenan

Programme cover / Team sheet