Formartine United 1 - 2 Fraserburgh 

Aberdeenshire Cup - Final
Friday, October 4th, 2019, 8:00 PM at Balmoral Stadium, Aberdeen
Attendance: 800
Referee: Liam Duncan
Formartine United v Fraserburgh, Oct 4th 2019, Balmoral Stadium, Aberdeen
Formartine United  Fraserburgh

Goalscorers
Garry Wood (22)
William West (10)
William West (48)

Team Managers
Paul Lawson Mark Cowie

Starting Eleven
Errol Watson
Michael Clark
Darryn Kelly
Wayne Mackintosh
Stuart Anderson
Graeme Rodger
Aaron Norris
Daniel Park
Kieran Lawrence
Scott Lisle
Garry Wood
Paul Leask
Lewis Davidson
Bryan Hay
Ross Willox
Owen Cairns
Grant Campbell
Jamie Beagrie
William West
Paul Campbell
Paul Young
Scott Barbour

Bench
Kevin Main
Stuart Smith
Liam Strachan
Andrew Greig
Conor Gethins
Jordan Leydon
Gary McGowan
Andrew Hannar
Logan Watt
Luke Barbour
Kieran Simpson
Greg Buchan
Sean Butcher
Greg Sim

Substitutions
Andrew Greig for Michael Clark (65)
Gary McGowan for Scott Lisle (75)
Conor Gethins for Aaron Norris (80)
Sean Butcher for Grant Campbell (80)
Greg Buchan for William West (85)
Kieran Simpson for Paul Campbell (89)

Bookings
Wayne Mackintosh (2)
Michael Clark (56)
Garry Wood (63)
Gary McGowan (78)
Daniel Park (90)
William West (69)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Errol Watson (GK) 8 apps -
Michael Clark 15 apps3 goals
Darryn Kelly 3 apps1 goal
Wayne Mackintosh 63 apps6 goals
Stuart Anderson 218 apps34 goals
Graeme Rodger 200 apps69 goals
Aaron Norris 35 apps3 goals
Daniel Park 33 apps9 goals
Kieran Lawrence 75 apps2 goals
Scott Lisle 16 apps11 goals
Garry Wood 157 apps76 goals
Andrew Greig (sub) 76 apps25 goals
Gary McGowan (sub) 20 apps8 goals
Conor Gethins (sub) 121 apps45 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Scott Lisle (21 years 155 days)
Oldest Player:Errol Watson (35 years 38 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 132 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Liam Strachan (20 years 332 days)
Oldest Player:Kevin Main (37 years 204 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 91 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Graeme Rodger made his 200th competitive appearance for the Club.

Formartine supporters returned more in sorrow than in anger from this Friday night cup final at Cove's Balmoral Stadium. Their favourites who being caught cold by goals (both Willie West headers) early in each half struggled to gain the traction needed to rein in a Broch side that apart from a fifteen minute spell shortly after United equalised midway through the first half, were on the front foot for most of the game.

Formartine's rearguard of full backs Mackintosh, Lawrence and centre backs Kelly and Clark having acquitted themselves well enough in recent games albeit with less at stake and against less obviously demanding opposition had never played in that combination in front of keeper Greg Watson before. You could see the case for sticking with the keeper that had seen them through to the final but with the absence of Crawford, Smith and McKeown it may have been one change too far. However, apart from an early fluffed clearance that arguably contributed to the opening goal, Watson did more good than harm with at least one outstanding save to keep his side in contention at 2-1 down.

Broch were well up for this and flew at United from the off. A break down the right was halted by Kelly in the first minute and before the second was up, a heavy challenge by Mackintosh on Barbour just shy of the left corner of the box yielded a yellow card and a free that was blocked. United got a long ball up to Wood and gained an early corner but most of the early pressure came from Fraserburgh. Shots from Barbour and West were blocked by Watson before Hay picked up a clearance by the keeper and wheeched it over right to Davidson who flighted the ball straight to the head of WEST whose powerful 8 yard header went straight to the net for a 7th minute opener.

Formartine tried to battle their way back from this but it was difficult. Fraserburgh were quick to close down any forward moves, determinedly working for second ball chances and with a congested midfield, United had to rely more than usual on balls from the back getting to the front players. However with twenty minutes gone they were beginning to get balls into the opposition box and in the 22nd minute some sustained pressure saw Lisle, Rodger and Wood all in threatening positions as a stinging angled drive from Rodger beat the keeper before being hacked off the line by Hay. Rodger seized the rebound and clipped it left to right straight to WOOD who nutted the ball powerfully home at the back stick.

United were doing quite well at this stage and tried to push on but although runs from Lisle and Norris got them near to the danger area a couple of times a piece, the opposing back four were giving little away; a late but legal Beagrie block halting Lisle's progress after a run that had taken him past at least two challenges. As the interval approached, United momentum seemed to dip and Fraserburgh started to press again.

They started the second with a flat out attack on United and it took only three minutes before a surge down the left by Cairns and Barbour got the former United man to near the corner flag from where he delivered a perfectly measured cross to the head of the all but unmarked WEST to head home at the back stick. Noses in front, Broch were not going to surrender their lead easily and maintaining a high tempo continued to hammer away at United who struggled to get off the back foot. In the 53rd it took a stunning dive by Watson to save a Campbell drive from just inside the box to prevent 3-1. Misses by Hay and West kept the pressure on and United needed to make changes to effect headway in a game that was running away from them. Centre back Clark gave way to the attacking threat of Greig, Gethins came on for Norris and McGowan for Lisle. These didn't produce an instant turnaround but by the last ten minutes United developed a strong final flurry that produced near things as a Gethins volley was deflected over the top and a McGowan drive rebounded past Leask's right stick. Too little too late.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie

Programme cover / Team sheet