Formartine United2–4Clachnacuddin

It took each side a good ten minutes or so to find shape and rhythm and it was United who found their feet first enough to ensure United had the better of territory and possession at this stage. In the 10th minute Barbour and MacPhee unpicked the Clach defence on the right before teeing the ball up for the advancing Mackintosh to unload a fierce low shot that flew inches wide of MacLennans right upright. Clach at this point were playing a counter attacking game and a minute or two later MacLennan found himself in space about 15 yards out from the home goal but his shot was high. At the other end Ferries spurned an even better one by hoofing the ball over the top from about ten yards out.

United had the bulk of pressure but needed a goal to settle them. This came in the 17th minute: Archie MacPHEE, twisting and turning, left three defenders out of contention before delivering a thunderous, angled shot on the turn from 15 yards that crashed into the net off the underside of the bar.

This looked like it had settled them and they resumed the offensive and quickly extended their lead. Ferries in the 20th minute, outmaneuvered him near the front right corner of the box to create the space from which to deliver a perfectly flighted cross right onto the head of BARBOUR who coolly nodded home at the back stick.

From this, United had the perfect platform to win the game. Anything short of victory from that position had to derive from an inability to match the appetite for the points shown by the visitors or staggeringly bad luck. In the end there were elements of both but the lack of appetite was far more apparent than the bad luck. The latter came ten minutes before the interval when a period of Clach pressure on the United box saw the award of a highly dubious penalty for an alleged foul by Mackintosh on Leslie. FINNIS netted the spot kick.

That turned the tide for Clach: they had battled hard to get where they were but the goal seemed to give them a level of confidence that allowed them to kick on. They almost levelled a minute before half time when MacLennan, with only the keeper to beat, balooned the ball over the top from near the penalty spot. Clach matched United across the pitch for the remainder of the first session and started the next at full throttle and no one was given time on the ball nor space in which to create. Periods of end to end play were interspersed with dogged midfield scrapping and United never again managed to impose their pattern on the Merkinch men.

If the game was turning Clachs way, it swung dramatically in their favour ten minutes into the second period with a penalty and red card award. MacLennan was breaking into the box pursued by Jevan Anderson. The young defender tried a long legged, rather late tackle and paid the penalty of his indiscretion by being red carded along with the award of a spot kick to Clach. BEETSON took the spot kick this time and thumped it low past MacDonald to level.

Clach spread the play to stretch their ten man opposition who tried to neutralise the effects by squeezing as much play as possible into the Clach final third. The odds were in the visitors favour and they managed to impose more of their pattern on United than the hosts could on them. The result was two more goals for Clach each a direct result of their ability to stretch the depleted United side wide. The first of these, on the hour, was a back post eight yard effort by Ryan MacKINTOSH who had time and space to slot home a Leslie cross and the fourth and final, came after a corner from Beeston was played close into the goal face but only partially cleared as far as MacLENNAN who had little challenge as he clipped the ball into the net from around eight yards out.