Appearances & Goals To Date

Andy Reid (GK)		56 apps	-
Russell McBride		2 apps	-
Johnny Crawford		59 apps	3 goals
Stuart Smith		140 apps	12 goals
Stuart Anderson		122 apps	26 goals
Graeme Rodger		78 apps	25 goals
Jamie Masson		50 apps	8 goals
Derek Young		20 apps	3 goals
Scott Barbour		73 apps	33 goals
Scott Ferries		21 apps	1 goal
Garry Wood		65 apps	40 goals
Calum Dingwall (sub)		102 apps	7 goals
Conor Gethins (sub)		27 apps	15 goals
Neil Gauld (sub)		66 apps	37 goals

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Milestones

It all depends on the level of your expectation whether you accept a draw for what it is or experience it as more akin either to a victory or a defeat. Huntly celebrated this against the odds point almost as much as Formartine’s faithful mourned the last nail in the coffin of their already tenuous hopes of being in the final shake up for this season’s SHFL title. United, on the admission of manager Hunter, were in a position where they needed to win all remaining games in order to get close enough to Cove or Buckie to offer serious competition for the Championship. This result means that they would need to benefit from a level of capitulation from both of their main rivals that is beyond any sane level of expectation. Their hopes of achieving anything meaningful from the season are fading fast: only The Breedon Highland League Cup remains within their grasp.

They fielded a unique starting line up that suggested management determination to shake some of the lethargy that seems to have been around a side that produced less than inspiring narrow victories against Strathspey, Rothes and Locos all of whom were allowed by some means or other to punch above their weight. Keeper MacDonald was dropped in favour of Reid. Masson and Wood were preferred up top to Gauld and Gethins while Young displaced Michie at right back. MacBride, a veteran of many hundreds of HFL games and apparently many more kebabs, replaced the injured Lawson in central defence. How much all this was judicious squad rotation in the face of a very busy programme and how much strategic/motivational is unknown, but that is incidental to the fact that it simply didn’t work.

The first half saw United setting the pattern for a game where they pressed and pressed but betrayed themselves with simple errors that let Huntly cash in big time. Formartine moved the ball about quite well from box to box but seemed devoid of the creativity needed to unpick decent but by no means outstanding defending by Huntly.

For the first ten minutes or so United had vastly superior possession and were well ensconced in Huntly territory. Wood was working defenders, particularly Adams, very hard and Barbour was having some success in getting the ball beyond full backs Donald on the right and Muirison on the left. Barbour drew a decent save from Farquhar in the 7th minute with a ten yard drive from a tight angle on the left while both Wood and Rodger had shots from the edge of the box that went not too far over the top.

It looked like United had the pressure and the resources to win the game, but already there were warning signs, Huntly were quick to close down Formartine players in possession and quicker still, particularly with Roddie and Morrice, in breaking on the counter to United attacks. Both Anderson and Masson were casual enough to be caught in possession to see the ball delivered over ground at lightning pace to the fringes of their own penalty box. The threat was clear – they got two (arguably all three) goals this way and the cure, in theory, was simple - be less casual and don’t give the ball away cheaply. Management instruction, invective laden to emphasise the point, was to that effect but sadly unable to effect the necessary change.

In the 14th minute, the ball was given away cheap as chips about 35 yards out from the Huntly goal, delivered swiftly down the middle by Roddie and slipped to McGowan whose twenty yard drive warmed the hands of Reid as he beat the ball down before collecting it. United managed three corners in the first half hour two by Barbour and one by Anderson: none got beyond the first defender. A fourth was taken by the unchallenged keeper at the near post –almost as bad.

In the 36th minute on the back of another Huntly breakaway after a period of United pressure, Huntly managed to keep possession long enough at the Formartine end to get four bodies into the box and after a Duncanson attempt was half cleared from near the base of the left upright McGOWAN capitalised on a moment of defensive confusion to be first to the ball and drive it low past the right hand of Reid from close range. It was against the run of play but United had ignored fair warning and got no more than they deserved. United offence resumed but little else changed until the interval.

United looked a bit meaner after the interval and were initially crisper and more direct A move from the back ended with McBride crossing from deep left to Crawford attacking the back stick but the defender’s header was too high. In the 49th minute the hard running Rodger forced his way past Murison and into the box. On his way past Adams there was some illegal contact and the midfielder hit the deck. It wasn’t the most blatant of penalties but it was a foul and it was in the box. WOOD hammered the ball home low and right as the keeper went left.

Again they piled on the pressure but still they lacked invention. Rodger always looked their greatest threat and after the game had run past the hour mark as again running hard and fast at Adams. Before he could get bye to retrieve the ball he had managed to get past the big defender he was blatantly body checked. Adams was immediately sent off.
Surely United could now get the better of ten man Huntly? Nope, Huntly thought otherwise and sticking to their counter attacking game plan got their noses back in front straight away. Again it was Gary McGOWAN who delivered the riposte. Again United had been pressing and again they gave the ball away cheaply as it was picked off Andersons toes in the middle of his own half and before any attempt to retrieve it Huntly had it up the inside right channel and through to McGowan who drew the keeper before lashing the ball home from 15 yards.

It looked like United would steady the ship but they were still struggling for penetration and when they did get some they found keeper Farquhar in top form as he denied Wood, Barbour, Rodger and sub Gethins in a ten minute period. The fates smiled on Huntly when sub Gethins got the ball past the keeper only for Clark to pop up on the goal line to nudge it to safety.

In the 80th minute a near solo goal by Rodger levelled the game at two apiece. Driving through the middle from not far beyond the half way line he powered his way into the box, made space and beat the keeper with a firm accurate shot from just inside the box. A draw was no use to United but Huntly had spirit and energy enough, maybe a bit of luck too to keep them at bay.

Deep in stoppage time this strange game reached a remarkable conclusion. In the 93rd minute another Huntly break after a Formartine attack saw the ball worked swiftly left to right to DUNCANSON who bore straight in on goal and beat Reid from a little way inside the right corner of the box, for 3-2.

Straight from the restart the ball was played forward into the Huntly box and the estimable Graham RODGER powered through to drive the ball home with what was to prove to be the very last kick of the ball.

Match report by Colin Keenan