Strathspey Thistle 0 - 8 Formartine United

League Match
Saturday, October 28th, 2017, 3:00 PM at Seafield Park, Grantown on Spey
Attendance: 80
Referee: Dan McFarlane
Strathspey Thistle v Formartine United, Oct 28th 2017, Seafield Park, Grantown on Spey
Strathspey Thistle Formartine United 

Goalscorers
None. Graeme Rodger (16)
Archie MacPhee (21)
Archie MacPhee (29)
Stuart Smith (37)
Archie MacPhee (pen.) (60)
Garry Wood (69)
Archie MacPhee (79)
Liam Burnett (87)

Team Managers
Ally Munro Paul Lawson

Starting Eleven
Michael MacCallum
Ashley Ballam
Richard Finnis
Andrew Hay
David Ross
Cameron Lisle
James McShane
Stefan McRitchie
Lee Wilson
Andrew Reid
Dominick Edwards
Ewen MacDonald
Craig McKeown
Johnny Crawford
Scott Henry
Stuart Smith
Stuart Anderson
Graeme Rodger
Paul Lawson
Archie MacPhee
Scott Barbour
Garry Wood

Bench
Kai Taylor
Reece Barton
Craig MacMillan
Cairn Giles
Lyndain o Brian
Jamie Michie
Jevan Anderson
Max Berton
Wayne Mackintosh
Liam Burnett
Kieran Lawrence

Substitutions
Kai Taylor for David Ross (74)
Reece Barton for Andrew Reid (83)
Cairn Giles for Lee Wilson (85)
Wayne Mackintosh for Paul Lawson (61)
Max Berton for Garry Wood (71)
Liam Burnett for Archie MacPhee (81)

Bookings
James McShane (88) Paul Lawson (40)

Red Cards
None. None.

Appearances & Goals To Date
Ewen MacDonald (GK) 44 apps -
Craig McKeown 69 apps13 goals
Johnny Crawford 74 apps3 goals
Scott Henry 27 apps1 goal
Stuart Smith 173 apps15 goals
Stuart Anderson 151 apps28 goals
Graeme Rodger 112 apps34 goals
Paul Lawson 63 apps18 goals
Archie MacPhee 21 apps22 goals
Scott Barbour 106 apps48 goals
Garry Wood 82 apps44 goals
Wayne Mackintosh (sub) 14 apps1 goal
Max Berton (sub) 46 apps4 goals
Liam Burnett (sub) 33 apps6 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Ewen MacDonald (21 years 244 days)
Oldest Player:Paul Lawson (33 years 174 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 44 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Jevan Anderson (17 years 243 days)
Oldest Player:Paul Lawson (33 years 174 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 105 days
Domestic Players:17 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Given the margin of victory, it is difficult to avoid coming across as patronising but Strathspey are due a fair bit of credit for the positive spirit in which they approached this game and with which they played throughout. They could well have opted for an approach that prioritised damage limitation by sticking eight or more behind the ball at all times, flooding their penalty area and attempting to kill the game. Instead they tried to go forward whenever they could even if at the end of the day that increased the space in which the slicker, stronger and more skilled United could operate. By building if not so much from the back (although that did happen often enough), but working the ball around in midfield to engineer some quality openings, Formartine deserved every one of their eight goals and had it not been for some seriously inspired shot-stopping by keeper MacCallum, a tally in double figures was definitely on the cards.

With the exception of manager Lawson replacing the bed-ridden Ferries, this was the same eleven that trounced Brora a week ago and is certain to bear a very strong resemblance to the one that will start next weeks Aberdeenshire Cup Final against Cove Rangers. They started at full throttle and never really eased back until the final whistle.

In the circumstances, it was surprising that it took as long as twenty minutes for the scoring to start but what Strathspey lacked in skills and experience, they compensated for as far as they could with enough energy and enthusiasm to delay the inevitable until the 20th minute. United had been running them ragged on the flanks and both Barbour and Anderson were providing a plentiful supply of balls into the goalmouth. Wood, MacPhee, Rodger and Lawson all had shots close to target or blocked by defenders before Rodger broke what was beginning to seem like a frustrating deadlock. Wood drifted out left to collect a long diagonal ball from McKeown, turned, beat Ballam and turned in towards the edge of the box before flighting a ball straight to RODGER who had timed his back stick run perfectly, and headed the ball home from no more than a couple of yards out.

The deadlock broken and the route to goal established, Formartine were an increasingly hot handful for the Speysiders. The pattern was not so much a sustained seige but wave upon wave of free flowing attack with players running off each other, drawing defenders to places they and their management would rather they did not visit. Even at this stage the question was already how many more? The next came only 6 minutes later – again from a ball clipped in from the left. This time the creator was Barbour who played it short almost to the base of the near post where MacPHEE flicked the ball the foot or two it needed to cross the goal line. Another 6 minutes and Archie doubled his tally. This time – just to show versatility he crashed the ball well beyond the reach of MaCallum from beyond the back stick to capitalise on a beautifully crafted left to right diagonal ball from S.Anderson.

This was enough to virtually guarantee victory albeit the guts of an hour remained but it was clear that by now the attempts of Strathspey at attack were as about as frequent and fertile as the droppings of a rocking horse and that United had built up a big enough head of steam to power a traction engine. Their fourth goal showed the range and depth of the United fire power when left back Stuart Smith popped up at the back stick (his right) to head firmly home between keeper and post in the 39th minute.

Formartine continued their pattern of mounting successive waves of attack starting from midfield or further back but Thistle, who had to work their socks off in the process, did just enough to keep their visitors in check until the interval.

The second half started a bit like the first: a rested and temporarily re-invigorated home side had for a while just enough energy to chase and harry and keep their visitors at bay for the opening twenty minutes or so. The waves of United attack persisted, they moved the ball about a slick as raindrops on a bald mans bonce and the locals began to tire again. Almost immediately after manager Lawson recused himself to the subs bench to be replaced by Wayne Mackintosh, the energetic sub caused mayhem with a mazy run along the left half of the 18 yard line before breaking in to the area and just when it looked like he had the goal at his mercy he was tripped from behind by Lisle. Archie MacPHEE took the inevitable penalty kick with some panache, driving the ball very hard and low barely an inch inside the keepers left upright in the 64th minute.

With cup final places at stake, it was inevitable that United were still going to maintain the pressure and just as they did in the second half of the first half they capitalised on the spaces left by their tiring opponents to increase the goal tally. In the 72nd minute they showed a new dimension to their goal scoring repertoire with a very cleverly executed free kick routine. From a central position 20 yards out, McKeown, Wood and MacPhee all stood over the dead ball. As McKeown touched the ball a foot or two to his right MacPhee made a dummy run on the left that was just enough to stretch the defenders to leave a balls width of space on the other side through which WOOD delivered a sizzling shot to skelp the ball low into the net.

A thumping drive by Mackintosh produced a superb diving save by MaCallum to turn the ball round his right upright for Uniteds 16th corner of the game. In the 81st minute MacPHEE showed a different aspect of his finishing skills by pursuing a through ball down the inside right channel, into the box and, still on the run, dropped a shoulder before leathering an unstoppable shot past the keeper at shoulder height and into the net.

Sub Liam BURNETT, who is amassing himself quite a neat tally of goals these days scored in his third successive match when he darted between Finnis and Ross to take a perfectly delivered opportunity from Barbour who had left a couple of defenders in his wake before setting up the gilt edged opportunity that young sub pinged home from around ten yards out, with all the composure of a veteran.

This was as good a workout in advance of a cup final that anyone could expect of this side. They dominated throughout forcing twenty two corners to nil. Returnees from long term injuries are showing that touch and timing are returning just when needed. Cove are a fair tak on but United on their form on the last two Saturdays, at least are shaping up well for that challenge.

Match report by Colin Keenan