Nairn County 0 - 1 Formartine United

League Match
Wednesday, April 13th, 2016, 8:00 PM at Station Park, Nairn
Attendance: 150
Referee: David Watt
Nairn County v Formartine United, Apr 13th 2016, Station Park, Nairn
Nairn County Formartine United 

Goalscorers
None. Stuart Anderson (71)

Team Managers
Les Fridge Kris Hunter

Starting Eleven
Calum Antell
Sean Webb
Paul MacLeod
Michael Morrison
Alan Pollock
Conor Gethins
Gregg Main
Robert Duncanson
John Cameron
Kenny McKenzie
Tony Wallace
Andy Reid
Calum Dingwall
Stuart Smith
Jamie Masson
Stuart Anderson
Hamish Munro
Callum Bagshaw
Graeme Rodger
Paul Lawson
Neil Gauld
Garry Wood

Bench
Wayne MacKintosh
Ross Naismith
Sam Urquhart
Andrew Skinner
Callum MacLean
Glenn Main
Dylan MacLean
Ewen MacDonald
Jamie Michie
Max Berton
Neil McVitie
Scott Barbour
Cammy Keith

Substitutions
None. None.

Bookings
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.

Appearances & Goals To Date
Andy Reid (GK) 38 apps -
Calum Dingwall 71 apps5 goals
Stuart Smith 109 apps10 goals
Jamie Masson 27 apps2 goals
Stuart Anderson 90 apps21 goals
Hamish Munro 70 apps3 goals
Callum Bagshaw 79 apps11 goals
Graeme Rodger 42 apps12 goals
Paul Lawson 32 apps9 goals
Neil Gauld 38 apps17 goals
Garry Wood 40 apps30 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Calum Dingwall (23 years 61 days)
Oldest Player:Jamie Masson (33 years 17 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 136 days
Domestic Players:10 (90.91 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ewen MacDonald (20 years 46 days)
Oldest Player:Jamie Masson (33 years 17 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 335 days
Domestic Players:16 (94.12 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

This in its own way was a fair old test of character for Formartine. With the League title only a remote arithmetical prospect for them since their defeat to Cove, the temptation for players of lesser character would be to run out games like this until the season’s end avoiding injury and/or undue or unpleasant levels of effort in the process, was there. It can be reported that they approached and completed this match with all the character and resolution needed to grind out a single goal victory against a skilled team that fought them tooth and nail every inch of the way.

Cove having comfortably despatched Clach and thereby the Championship while this game was being played, Formartine and Brora find themselves in the almost unique position of having one game each left to play and being absolutely equal on both points and goal difference. Formartine cling to second position ahead of Brora on the basis of having scored one goal more than them.

This game started and largely continued as a tight midfield battle where although there was considerable action around the respective penalty areas there was significantly less of it within them. Such of it as there was, was marginally in United’s favour but the match was none the poorer for that and a fascinating midfield battle of wits between two wily sets of midfielders sustained the interest of a decent crowd throughout. Formartine had Wood in at centre half deputising for the ill Crawford and necessitating change to the strike force to accommodate the switch. The front two of Gauld and Bagshaw set out to show their credentials from the off and a move down the right initiated by an interchange between Anderson and Munro, developed by Roger got the pair onside and into the box. A cheeky back heel from Gauld brought Roger back in and his clipped cross over the goalmouth was met by a stinging header from Bagshaw that forced Antell into a good diving save. Play switched almost immediately to the other end with a move down the Nairn right concluding with McKenzie working Reid with a decent twenty yard drive.

The game then settled into a closely contested but by no means dirty midfield battle where progress by one side was quickly negated by the other and goal mouth action was more likely to be the result of an error [of which there were few], than superiority by either side. One, uncharacteristic wee lapse by Roger in the 11th minute allowing himself to be caught in possession about 40 yards out ended with Wallace getting in one on one with Reid who was out to meet the forward in a flash and closed him down enough to be able to block the ensuing shot which yielded only an unrewarded corner. As the half progressed United slowly gained a slight territorial advantage and probably just shaded the possession statistics, but it was Nairn that came nearest to scoring when in the 37th minute Pollock managed to pinch enough space on the left side of the box to ping the ball across straight to the head of Gethins who had slipped in to a position just ball side of the keeper and delivered a fierce header from close range that was remarkably stopped by an outstanding reflex save from Reid.

From that point on the game opened out enough for a slightly more end to end characteristic to develop. After a Lawson free from 22 yards had drifted a foot or two off its intended target at the keeper’s top left corner a slack ball in defence by Gethins was picked up by Anderson who bore down on goal from twenty odd yards out. Outstripping defenders and taking out the keeper right of goal he had and open-goal ahead but was only about two or three yards in from the goal line where he could get in a very acute angled shot which just failed to sneak in at the far post.

The second half developed as the first had: from a tight midfield affair to a slightly more open one with United having just the better of exchanges. Again they gained some slight territorial advantage usually as the result of powerful runs down the right by Munro or as a result of some masterful passing from deep by Lawson. Subs came on: Keith and Barbour replaced Gauld and Bagshaw and McVitie took over from Masson, but it wasn’t until the 75th minute that the deadlock was broken. Munro set up McVitie down the right flank and the sub played in Rodger who took the ball on great lang stravaig over past the centre circle forward a bit and then right again before returing it to “Biscuits” in a a more advanced position down the right. Making more ground he played the ball into the area. Across the area to meet the back post run of ANDERSON who was onto to it in a flash to bump the ball home from about 8 yards out.

United were dominant enough by now to hold onto their advantage and looked like they might just pinch another but the home defence well marshalled by the portly Morrison still kept incursions into the area to an absolute minimum. Nairn did enough to raise United anxiety in the last minute of allotted time when a 20yard free kick from Duncanson beat the wall but didn’t dip enough to find the target.
Formartine maintained discipline and possession enough to run down the clock without further alarm.

Match report by Colin Keenan