Appearances & Goals To Date

Ewen MacDonald (GK)		9 apps	-
Shane Jamieson		10 apps	-
Johnny Crawford		53 apps	3 goals
Calum Dingwall		90 apps	6 goals
Jamie Michie		33 apps	-
Stuart Anderson		107 apps	25 goals
Jamie Masson		37 apps	7 goals
Graeme Rodger		63 apps	20 goals
Neil Gauld		52 apps	32 goals
Scott Barbour		58 apps	28 goals
Scott Ferries		8 apps	-
Scott Henry (sub)		13 apps	-
Liam Burnett (sub)		2 apps	-
Kieran Lawrence (sub)		1 app (debut)	-

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Kieran Lawrence

(Signed July 24th, 2014)

Milestones

Having had the brass neck to force this replay from 2-0 down in the last half hour last week, those Junior League “toonsers” had the sheer temerity to pinch an opening goal as early as the third minute in the replay this week. However, the effect of that was akin to poking a sharp stick at a grizzly bear sleeping off a hangover. With the exception of a further consolation goal that took Dee briefly to 3-2 late in the first half they were steamrollered by Formartine’s progress to round 3 of the Willliam Hill Scottish Cup where it is now known that they will be at home to Annan Athletic.

United’s start was less than promising: having conceded a goal to Dee’s first foray up the park, they also lost captain of the day Jonny Crawford to a nasty looking knee injury in the 6th minute. The goal was a down the middle effort and even that early, against the run of play. An over the top ball from Phillipson reached HENDERSON who drove directly towards the box where the centre backs, Crawford and Jamieson hesitated momentarily, but enough to let the forward into enough space to rattle the ball from 18 yards out past MacDonald’s outstretched right hand and into the net.

Formartine seemed confident enough that they could give such opposition a goal of a start and still defeat them comfortably – and they were right. The initial effect of the goal was a boost to the visitors and it fired them enough to stand up (for a wee while), to the best Formartine could throw at them. United produced successive waves of attack out wide and through the middle with the front pair of Barbour and Gauld buzzing about just ahead of Masson and Ferries, and had Dee pinned well back in their own territory, confined to few breaks up the park all of which were competently neutralised.

Such conditions continued until the almost inevitable, equaliser which came just after Banks had gained respite from a siege on their rearguard by a big punt up the park by McCall. However the defender got it right back down his throat again when United’s Henry picked up the clearance, and calmly lobbed it back into the area just ahead of Dee’s box. With United forwards crossing each other Dee defenders were in disarray and a quick interchange between Ferries and Masson got the ball into the danger area a few yards wide of the keeper’s right upright where ANDERSON produced a swift, clean and absolutely clinical finish that drove the ball into the far bottom corner for an 18th minute equaliser.

Banks were struggling now – the impetus lay with United with the visitors having to choose between continuing to pursue faint dreams of victory or avoiding a substantial defeat. In the event, they had little choice as Formartine began to dictate all aspects of the game. Their diamond pattern midfield was well enough drilled to stretch the visitors to a point where they were beginning to be run ragged but still somehow remained on level terms. Something had to give but it took until the 40th minute for it to happen.

An amazing flurry in the last five minutes of the half forcefully demonstrated the home side’s superiority in a quick -fire exchange of goals that took the tally from one apiece in the 40th minute to 4-2 five minutes later.
Masson got two of them – and crackers they were too – the first, in the 40th minute came after United, hammering away in and around the visitors’ box looked to be running out of ideas before some super silky stuff from their midfield diamond carved out an overlap between wing back Dingwall and the hard running MASSON who completed the interchange with a low rasping shot to give Formartine the breakthrough they needed.

MASSON’S next was a source of absolute joy to anyone other than Banks O’ Dee supporters – the build-up was incidental to the finish where the former Don’s young star produced a thundering 25 yard drive from just left centre of the box that all but decapitated the keeper on its way over his head to the back of the net – a finish of the highest quality at any level of the game.

That was not enough yet to kill their opposition’s threat and to prove it, they retaliated instantly to get back to 3-2 – a decent, but very short lived glimmer of hope. Winton on the end of a long through ball moved it on to BUCHANAN who drove it home low and left from fifteen yards. A GAULD penalty completed the remarkable interval scoreline of 4-2. Barbour, in the process of rolling off Heads, was felled by the defender and his strike partner confidently slotted home the penalty driving the ball low and left while Shearer went right.

The visitors began the second session with damage limitation in mind. They didn’t go to the length of sticking eight or nine behind the ball and digging in their penalty area but instead tried to flood the midfield. Initially this slowed United’s march to victory but Dee lacked the fitness levels of United and as Formartine were crisper and sharper in their passing game the visitors began to fade as the period progressed. It took until the 74th minute for scoring to resume. Ferries, a constant thorn in the visitors’ flesh, provided an inch perfect cross from the right touchline to the head of Rodger who bulleted home a header at the back stick. The same Ferries then linked with BARBOUR to produce a set of one-two’s that took them through the defence and set up the latter for a slick twelve yard finish a couple of minutes later.
Dee were now a well beaten lot and United emphasised the difference in class between top end Highland League and the Junior Superleague equivalent with another goal right at the death. Barbour having jinked past White, was one on one with keeper Shearer. The keeper’s response was a fairly blatant foul on the striker. MASSON eager to complete his first hat trick for the club, stepped up for the penalty and slotted the ball firmly home just inside the keeper’s left post.

Other than the fact that United really should have put this tie to bed at the first time of asking, they could not be faulted for their clinical demolition of a side that worked away busily enough but lacked the class to really trouble their hosts at any point. Football is full of ironies one of which is the fact that United’s next game (in the Aberdeenshire Shield) is, incredibly, at home to Banks O’ Dee. That is unlikely to cause many sleepless nights for United or their adherents.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie

None.