round up from the Caithness Courier website -
www.caithness-courier.co.uk MacKenzie's double hat-trick as eight county teams go through
EIGHT Caithness sides are in Sunday's draw for the third round of the Macleod IFA Highland Amateur Cup.
Outfits from other areas they will be looking to avoid in the first open round include defending champions Back, Avoch and Shetland representatives Whalsay.
Saturday's matches in the Far North mainland zone saw Caithness come out narrowly in credit in inter-county jousts.
Acks, John O'Groats and Francis Street prevailed but both Swifts and Top Joe's succumbed to Sutherland opponents.
Acks hit the goal trail against Brora Wanderers at the Dammies.
An Alan Murray double, including an opening penalty, and a Jamie MacKenzie strike had Colin Chessor's men three up and cruising with less than 30 minutes gone. MacKenzie went on to bag a double hat-trick and Martin Murray grabbed one as they ended up 9-0 victors.
John O'Groats survived a potentially tricky assignment to meet the north-west Sutherland league champions Melvich.
The end-of-the-road men adapted well to the tight park and won more comfortably than the 1-0 scoreline suggests.
The crucial strike came just past the half-hour mark when the older Stuart Sinclair - who had earlier seen a shot come off the bar - was brought down in the box and Graham Tait tucked away the spot-kick.
Martin Sinclair, twice, and Mark Banks spurned opportunities to kill off the tie.
FSC featured in the comeback of the tournament so far when they overcame an early three-goal deficit at the Upper Bignold to defeat Lairg Rovers 6-4.
Francis Street settled well but a nightmare 10-minute spell saw their defence opened up three times as they fell 3-0 behind.
Davie Dunn got one back before the interval. Adam Duffy then further reduced the leeway before grabbing a second to allow FSC to draw level.
They promptly fell behind again only for Gavin Manson to cap off a weaving run with a powerful shot into the top corner.
That sapped Lairg's reserves, with FSC pulling ahead for the first time when Manson was upended in the box and Duffy completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot. A scrambled sixth late on completed a gutsy victory.
Swifts and Top Joe's were both knocked out after their forays over the Ord.
Swifts had a prime opportunity to draw first blood versus Golspie Stafford but Des MacLeod screwed a penalty wide.
The home side then romped to a fivegoal lead, leaving the Caithness second division leaders apparently dead and buried.
But they battled back with goals from James Mill, Roddy Harper and MacLeod.
Golspie rode their luck in not conceding more before a sixth goal confirmed their passage through to the next round.
TJs also enjoyed a good spell when they looked capable of pulling off a victory in Embo.
After going two behind, they pulled a goal back before the break through John McLean. The same player then struck the woodwork for Alan Gunn's troops after the interval.
Embo finished the stronger and two further goals saw them through to an ultimately comfortable 4-1 win.
A three-goal flurry just after the interval allowed Castletown to pull clear in their home clash against Wick Rovers.
A well-matched first half saw Stephen Morris pass up the only clear-cut opening when visiting keeper James More did well to block his first attempt and Morris sent the rebound wide of the target.
Niall Murray broke the deadlock 10 minutes after the break with a well-struck angled shot.
Within 10 minutes, the contest looked over when Fraser Welsh and Murray, again, added to the lead.
Rovers battled back with veteran James Robertson heading in a free kick and Chris MacLeod then thundering a shot from outside the box against the goalframe.
Castletown killed the game off when youngster Gregg MacLeod set up Welsh for a goal-line finish to make it 4-1.
Wick Thistle were made to battle hard before progressing at the expense of Ashes.
Thistle fell behind at Ormlie through an opportunist strike from Dave Keith early in the second half. They were kept at bay by some excellent saves by Graham Brown before Gordie Reid somewhat unconventionally turned a corner in with his derriere.
That was how it stood until a quarter of an hour from time when Thistle earned their passage with a screamer from all of 40 yards.
The other all-county first division clash saw Pentland United return from Lybster with a 3-1 win.
United, who have won the cup a record five times, went ahead through a header from Mark Nichol. A long-range free kick put them two up and Bryan Gray added a third before the home side got a late consolation through Graham Fryer.
Halkirk had an excellent 1-0 win in Wick over Groats.
The goal came on four minutes when Andy Bain's deflected shot from the edge of the box fell kindly to Graham Gunn, who took a touch before netting.
Groats' cause was not helped by Gordie MacDonald's early exit with a groin injury.
The Wick side went close with the last action of the first half when a header from Kevin Miller drew an excellent save from Stuart McCulloch.
McCulloch later produced two fine stops, though Graham Swanson and Stevie Elder both had decent chances to extend Halkirk's lead.
Workshops were not stretched in romping to a 7-0 victory against Thurso Thistle at the Dammies. There were doubles from John MacLeod, Colin Munro and young substitute Ewan Scott.
Elsewhere, holders Back squeezed through with a 1-0 win against island rivals Westside.
Avoch, twice runners-up in recent years, romped to a 9-0 victory over Kyleakin, while former winners Dingwall Thistle and Maryburgh both progressed.
Orkney qualifiers are Kirkwall pair Rovers and Accs. Shetland's representatives in the last 32 are Whalsay, who scored an impressive 4-2 victory over Lerwick Thistle. The third-round draw is being made on Sunday.
Macleod IFA Highland Amateur Cup, second round, North Dornoch Firth Zone:
Acks 9, Brora Wanderers 0; Ashes 1, Wick Thistle 2; Embo 4, Top Joe's 1; FSC 6, Lairg Rovers 4; Golspie Stafford 6, Swifts 3; Lybster 1, Pentland United 3; Melvich 0, John O'Groats 1; Castletown 4, Wick Rovers 1; Wick Groats 0, Halkirk 1; Workshops 7, Thurso Thistle 0.
18/05/2005
