Appearances & Goals To Date

Andy Reid (GK)		55 apps	-
Shane Jamieson		14 apps	2 goals
Jamie Michie		37 apps	-
Calum Dingwall		93 apps	6 goals
Stuart Smith		129 apps	11 goals
Stuart Anderson		111 apps	25 goals
Jamie Masson		40 apps	7 goals
Graeme Rodger		67 apps	23 goals
Scott Barbour		62 apps	29 goals
Scott Ferries		12 apps	1 goal
Neil Gauld		56 apps	32 goals
Max Berton (sub)		31 apps	2 goals
Conor Gethins (sub)		16 apps	7 goals

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Formartine rallied slightly after a first half performance that was as ineffectual, indifferent, inisciplined and inept a display as they have delivered in many a long day. They were shilpit, shapeless and sometimes even shambolic and against a team from the lower reaches of the league, gave not the slightest indication that they knew how to overcome a side, predominantly of youngsters, playing a strictly disciplined 4-1-4-1 formation. Despite the obvious two banks of four set up favoured by their hosts, United failed to play a single successful diagonal ball into space behind the home back four nor did they attempt or sustain any patterned “through the channels” stuff. It is doubtful if the number of successful passes to feet during this woeful first forty five reached double figures. The fact that the game reached the half-way point with United only one goal adrift owed as much to deficiencies on Vale’s part as relative merit on United’s.

It was surely nothing more than coincidence that the lunacy that permeated United ranks was conducted under the full glare of the (only slightly waning) “super-moon”. United exerted some early pressure on the Banffers down the left flank after a run by Dingwall was completed by a cross from Barbour that was comfortably taken by Pennet in the home goal. Vale were vigorous in closing down any attempted creativity by United and with a referee who blew at the first hint of any potential indiscretion, the game was never going to flow and rapidly descended in a staccato stop start affair where flowing football was absolutely out of the question. Another United foray, this time down the right got the length of a cross into the box by Ferries, intended for Rodger but before the attacking midfielder could get to the ball at the front centre of the box, it was intercepted by Krobot who got just enough contact to divert it to safety.

Formartine were visibly out of sorts and the more this state of affairs persisted the bolder the Banffers became and by the mid point of the half, they were giving just a shade better than they were getting and began to squeeze United back into their own backyard. In the 32nd minute some decent pass and move play by Blackhall, Murray and Ballard in an area mostly round the inside right channel and about 30 yards out from United’s goal was completed by a cunning snap shot by the latter who used the other two as cover for a sneaky disguised effort that went no more than a foot wide of the unsighted Reid’s left upright.

United should have opened the scoring in the 40th minute when an Anderson free kick from 20 odd yards out but well left of centre nudged the bar and fell for Rodger just a yard or two beyond the back stick, but somehow someone, probably Begg, in the mass of Vale defenders on the goal line managed to lump the ball away to safety.

In the 43rd minute, during a spell when Vale were beginning to squeeze the United defence pretty hard, a phase of pressure through the middle was only partly relieved by a clearance from Smith. This was returned down the right to Murray who was being doggedly tracked by Dingwall but after showing him the ball on the left, the forward just got far enough away from the defender on the right to clip over a slick pass to the head of BALLARD who headed the ball firmly home from near the back post and about eight yards out.

The second half began as the first had ended. Vale tails were up and Formartine were still struggling to string their passes together. The home side were now playing as if they fancied their chances while Formartine gave the impression that some were afraid to express themselves and/or make mistakes while others didn’t really look like they wanted to be there. Vale were working hard for each other and moving the ball about with greater pace and accuracy than United. Their next goal came in the 55th minute when midfield slackness by United left Noble with the chance of a run through the inside right channel. He seized the opportunity and took the ball thirty yards in a trice, to find his run matched through the middle by MURRAY who accepted the pass untroubled by any close attention from defence and drove the ball firmly home from fifteen yards out.

United were in serious trouble now but without really becoming any more fluent somehow managed not only to claw their way back into the game but also do enough to pinch it from Vale. A two minute smash and grab raid got them back on level terms. In the 61st minute from a phase of frenzied rather than coherently applied pressure by United, Gauld’s determined harrying took him to a point not too far in from the right corner. He worked himself into a wee bit of space from which to get the ball across to centre back JAMIESON and the strapping Shetlander obliged with a strong header from the back post to the net.

A minute later, the game was level: the result of a consummate piece of finishing by BARBOUR who made a perfectly timed run through the centre to match the left wing break made by Dingwall and Gauld, collected the inevitable pass at almost waist height to his left, swivelled to take it on the volley and buried the ball in the net from not far beyond the penalty spot.

Vale had by no means surrendered but they were clearly rocked by this rapid cancellation of their hard wrought advantage, but United had tasted blood and wanted more – and they got it. Sub GETHINS (on for Masson) was the one who provided the coup de grace. He did so in the 68th minute –only 8 minutes after entering the fray. Again it was Gauld who provided the ammunition while the sub, with his unerring capacity to reach the right place at the right time, stole away from his marker to arrive at the penalty spot, collect the feed from his fellow striker and produce the goal that saved a myriad of blushes with a typical clinical finish.

Formartine recognised the value of this “get out of jail card” and did just enough to hold onto their tenuous lead in the face of determined efforts by Vale to get at least some reward for having dominated the game for so long. United were fortunate indeed to take all three points – and without looking in the least bit like title contenders ironically did just what contenders do by pinching the points when their backs were against the wall.

Match report by Colin Keenan