Formartine United 5 - 0 Huntly 

League Match
Saturday, February 15th, 2020, 3:00 PM at North Lodge Park, Pitmedden
Referee: Mat Northcroft
Formartine United v Huntly, Feb 15th 2020, North Lodge Park, Pitmedden
Formartine United  Huntly

Goalscorers
Craig McKeown (26)
Scott Lisle (33)
Graeme Rodger (44)
Gary McGowan (80)
Jordan Leydon (85)
None.

Team Managers
Paul Lawson Martin Skinner

Starting Eleven
Kevin Main
Johnny Crawford
Craig McKeown
Darryn Kelly
Andrew Greig
Graeme Rodger
Scott Lisle
Conor Gethins
Aaron Norris
Daniel Park
Kieran Lawrence
John Farquhar
Alex Jack
Logan Johnstone
Glenn Murison
Kai Ross
Declan Milne
David Booth
Nathan Meres
Liam MacDonald
Bradley Manson
Chris Hay

Bench
Greg Sim
Stuart Smith
Stuart Anderson
Cole Anderson
Garry Wood
Jordan Leydon
Gary McGowan
Reece McKeown
Paul Esslemont
Craig Dorrat
Ashley Ballam
James Leslie
Cai Matthew
Euan Storrier

Substitutions
Gary McGowan for Daniel Park (69)
Jordan Leydon for Andrew Greig (69)
Cole Anderson for Aaron Norris (80)
Craig Dorrat for Chris Hay (62)
James Leslie foro Declan Milne (73)
Reece McKeown for Glenn Murison (75)

Bookings
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Kevin Main (GK) 80 apps -
Johnny Crawford 150 apps13 goals
Craig McKeown 146 apps21 goals
Darryn Kelly 22 apps1 goal
Andrew Greig 90 apps27 goals
Graeme Rodger 220 apps80 goals
Scott Lisle 36 apps18 goals
Conor Gethins 139 apps51 goals
Aaron Norris 55 apps5 goals
Daniel Park 49 apps11 goals
Kieran Lawrence 92 apps3 goals
Gary McGowan (sub) 35 apps9 goals
Jordan Leydon (sub) 21 apps5 goals
Cole Anderson (sub) 2 apps -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Scott Lisle (21 years 289 days)
Oldest Player:Kevin Main (37 years 338 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 134 days
Domestic Players:10 (90.91 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Cole Anderson (17 years 239 days)
Oldest Player:Kevin Main (37 years 338 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 229 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Formartine seem to have found themselves in a rich seam of good form: this stonking victory means that over the last two Saturdays they have secured 6 points out of 6, scoring 11 goals and conceding none in the process. Remarkably this has been achieved in the teeth of winter gales that in normal circumstances would have significantly hampered any attempts to play good football. United adapted to the conditions in the best possible way with a high tempo, keep the ball low, high pressing game conducted with an intensity that opponents were unable to survive.

A key part in all this has been the performance of two midfielders: Graeme Rodger who has become so adept at getting ahead of the strikers that he is amassing a goal tally that takes him close to becoming the clubs highest ever scorer and Aaron Norris whose new found role as a deep lying playmaker suits him to the extent that he has been utterly dominant from box to box setting tempo and shaping attacks.

Huntly are no pushovers and have proved to have been the last straw that broke the camel's back for more than one of United's previous managers. Showing no apprehension whatever United went at it straight from the off with a push down the left from Lawrence to Greig who slipped the ball inside to Lisle who, breaking into the left side of the box was upended by Johnstone. The award of a goal kick infuriated some and mystified others.

It was clear early on that both Greig and Lisle had the legs on any or all of the Huntly defenders and were out to give them a roasting. United hammered away at Huntly who were largely pinned back in their own final third. Shots from Lisle, Greig and Gethins tested Farquhar but the penalty area was so densely populated that United had little space in which to move. A twenty five yard drive by Rodger smacked off the right upright but it took until the 26th minute for United to make their breakthrough. After a series of corners centre back McKEOWN was still lurking in Huntly territory when Park whipped over a dipping right to left free kick from about 25 yards out when the big defender scattered defenders as he dived headlong to bullet the ball into the right corner of the net.

On track now, United tightened the screws with another, 7 minutes later, as LISLE burst through the middle outpaced and outmuscled Johnstone and Manson as he forced himself and the ball between them before skelping it firmly beyond the reach of Farquhar for the second.

Just on half time Rodger virtually replicated that goal as he too burst through the middle, split the centre backs and sunk the ball into the right hand corner. The second half was generally messier as the wind continued to rise as the downpour intensified along with United pressure on the visitors' rearguard. However there was little room for manoeuvre in there and shots from distance were at the mercy of the gale. United hammered away but the elements favoured the 9 or more Strathbogie men billeted there. However the older heads of strikers McGOWAN and Gethins found a way through by peeling off right and left respectively to draw defenders as the latter took a feed from Leyden and hammered it low left to right cross the goal face for the former to nick the ball in at the back stick.

Leyden who had replaced Greig in the 69th minute was rewarded for his constant torment of the Huntly defence when at some lick he, turned two defenders, cut inside another to find himself virtually on the goal line and turned back in to face and beat a fourth before off loading a ferocious drive that left Farquhar transfixed as the ball ripped into the net.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie

None.

Programme cover / Team sheet