Formartine United3–2Shetland Select

This composite of Shetland’s best provided challenging pre-season opposition for a Formartine side that, substitutions notwithstanding, gained just enough in fluency as the game progressed to overcome a two goal deficit to squeak home with a victory by the odd goal in five. The Shetlanders looked overall to be a fairly youthful lot but their overall standard was such that every one of them looked easily capable of holding down a place in a top half Highland League team. It was also clear that select side or not, this lot were well able to play with each other and gave every appearance of having done so before.

The shape of the game was set early on and bye and large the pattern of United holding the lion’s share of possession and pushing the visitors back until the point that they countered with slick, well timed counter attacks, never changed.

United were smartly out of the blocks and immediately mounted an attack down the right where trialist, Derek Young showed his undoubted class with a cunning wee 10 yard chip over the top of two defenders into the path of the overlapping McVitie. A doubty defence well organised by Jamieson was stretched but hung on well and it was clear that what attempts on their goal United could muster, were going to be mostly from outwith the penalty area.
Formartine pressure was quite intense: Young, Anderson, Rodger and Barbour spread the play well down each flank and moved the ball about quickly and with Wood leading the line with the predatory Gethins popping up in dangerous looking places, all it needed was just a touch more fluency and a smidgeon of composure for the goal threat to become irresistible. A dinked through ball by Barbour found the late run of Rodger but the goal effort went just high and wide. Two minutes later in the 13th, Barbour again set up an opening as his curling shot from the left was met by the head of centre back Johnny Crawford. The defender got in a firm header but was unable to get himself enough height to direct it low enough to find its way under the bar.

There was little doubt that Shetland were under pressure but in the 15th minute they really showed their teeth. After being pinned well back for most of the game until then, they suddenly unleashed a break down the right that yielded a pair of unrequited corners. Formartine resumed the offensive but not for long. In the 18th the Shetlanders broke away again- this time left of centre - Ward fed Maver and the latter had the pace to take him beyond defenders to get clear one on one with Reid. From a yard short of the box he fired in a fierce low drive that the keeper could do no more than parry back to him. The forward tried again but still Reid was able to protect his net, this time beating the ball away to safety beyond his left upright.

Although Shetland were making rather more frequent breaks than earlier, the game could still not be described as end to end and it was against the run of play that they went ahead in the 29th minute. It clearly showed the ruthless efficiency of their breakaways. Again Maver was the one to prise open the home defence with an immaculately timed run that again ended with a fierce, low shot that was too hot for the keeper to hold. Reid did well to push it away but WARD was following up, collected the ball and clipped it over the still prone keeper into the net.

Formartine resumed their goal quest but it suffered from being more of the same in that the visitors managed by and large to keep them and the ball out of the danger areas within the box. The pressure continued a further 7 minutes until Shetland detected that the omens were good for another break and again it was lethal. This time it was virtually through the middle and again the pace with which it was executed had home defenders struggling to get back on station. This had Reid haring off his line to meet Tulloch and attempting to dispossess him a couple yards outwith the box. The challenge failed to meet the standards of legality required by ref McFarlane and a free kick twenty yards out and three or four left of centre was taken by Aitken. The forward struck a vicious drive that cannoned off the cross bar to leave Tulloch the easiest chance of retribution. He took it by sliding the ball comfortably home from about 8 yards out.

They were good goals and at least one of them showed Formartine the need for closer marking through the middle but United deserved better and their persistence began to pay off. Shetland again coped with United’s sustained pressure by pushing them to wider areas. A corner on the left two minutes later in the 38th was swung in a touch beyond the back post by Barbour. CRAWFORD snuck in behind Drozdowski and Arthur before rising to get in a powerful header directed back along the line of the advancing keeper and beyond him into the net.

Formartine pressure continued unrewarded until the interval but the sense was there that with care and attention to control Shetland counters they should be able to win the game.

Some re-arrangement at half time saw McDonald replace Reid in goal and Smith replacing Anderson but it is impossible to determine how far these were tactical or developmental in intent. Either way, the outcome was that United were even more dominant and it took them only two minutes to level. BARBOUR set off at pace down the left, cut in a few steps and rifled a low hard drive in near the base of the near post. The keeper did well to get down to it but there was more pace on the ball than he could handle and the best he could do was to slow its inevitable progress as it trickled in at the far post.

Formartine were beginning to find more shape and rhythm and as they did, imposed themselves increasingly on proceedings. They developed their moves from deeper and showed more variety in approach to the point that Shetland had to work harder over wider areas of the pitch than formerly. New signing Gethins showed the odd flash with unexpected snapshots from unusual positions. Although none found the net, a couple at least went close (ish).
Formartine pressure was still more or less contained but superior possession and increasingly accurate passing were enough to run the legs off the visitors who despite using their full quota of subs could be seen to tire. Around the 75th minute a period of a couple minutes of sustained pressure in the Shetland goalmouth looked as if it had to yield another for Formartine. Efforts by Gauld, sub Thomson, Smith and others rebounded from legs, shins, knees and ankles but still the ball refused to reach the net.
By this stage proceedings were increasingly one sided but it took until the 80th minute for United to get the goal that gave the result their performance deserved. After another period of protracted pressure on the Shetland goal the ball was cleared to midfield. Lawson who had been conducting a master class in distribution. picked it up and fed it through the inside left channel to GAULD The striker covered the necessary yards in seconds, took aim and drove the ball firmly and accurately beyond the reach of Wood to seal the result.