Post by Brian Mackay on Aug 6, 2006 23:14:07 GMT
Saturday 29th July 2006
#################
UMAX North of Scotland Cup
####################
Wick Academy 3 V Inverness Clach 2
Wick goals by Andrew MacLeod, Gary Farquhar and Craig Shearer
At Harmsworth Park, Wick - 3 p.m
Other scores
##########
Forres Mechanics 2 v 0 Lossiemouth
Ross County 6 v 0 Brora Rangers
Wick 3 V Clach 2 - report from www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk website
Delight as Academy start season with a win
Wick Academy 3, Clach 2
Published: 02 August, 2006
A ROAR of acclaim rang out at 3.41pm on Saturday, the like of which had not been heard for some years at Harmsworth Park. Around 150 supporters were celebrating the goal from Craig Shearer which brought the score in the UMAX North of Scotland cup tie to Wick Academy 3, Clachnacuddin 0.
An hour later those same fans, even the agnostics and atheists among them, were praying for referee Ross Hamill to blow the final whistle. The score was now 3-2 and the 40 or so followers of the Inverness side were the ones making a noise as they urged their team to take the game into extra time. Peter Budge’s lads held out to earn a win for their manager in the first competitive game of the new season and the faithful breathed a sigh of relief.
Attacking down the slope the visitors kept possession in the Wick half in the early minutes until Andrew Neill clipped Gary Manson’s heels on the edge of the area. Sixteen-year-old goalkeeper Daniel Bell, making his debut, hoisted the free kick high up into the Clach half.
Play was then restricted to close to the Clach right touch line for a lengthy spell with several throw-ins, mostly in Academy’s favour. In the sixth minute, Steven MacDonald tripped Gary Weir on the halfway line and a quickly-taken free kick switched play over to the other wing where, after a Wick throw, Darren Jarvie cleared the ball downfield. It was immediately returned and Weir and Shearer played a promising one-two through the middle. There were early signs that Weir’s ability to shield and dribble the ball with his size 12 boots was causing concern to opposing defenders.
Clach launched a swift counterattack with Blair Lawrie’s long crossfield pass from left to right to the feet of Neill. His cross gave Shaun Kerr the first shooting chance of the game but Bell dived low to his left to hold the ball.
In the 12th minute, Davie Mowat bustled his way forward 40 yards with the ball and although he lost possession Shearer retrieved it for Weir. The youngster did well to dodge several tackles as he shuffled with the ball along the 18-yard line and set up Shearer whose 14-yard shot was beaten away by keeper Ally Ridgers.
Play swung from end to end. A long range shot from Neil MacCuish dipped just over Bell’s crossbar, crosses from Alex Lamb on the left and Cowie on the right were directed too much towards Ridgers who caught them with ease. A 30-yard effort from Bone sailed high over the Wick bar, but then, in the 22nd minute, the veteran striker was only 10 yards from goal as Neill passed to him from the right. As Bone volleyed the ball goalwards Lamb leapt forward to deflect it for the first corner of the game.
Four minutes later Cowie cut in from the Wick right and fired a low cross which bounced off Jarvie’s shin for a corner. Richard Macadie flighted the corner kick to just beyond the back post and Andrew Macleod timed his run and high jump to perfection, powering in a header which left Ridgers helpless.
In the 33rd minute, Weir was taken down 22 yards in front of the Clach goal. As the visitors lined up their defensive wall, Macadie and Gary Farquhar were both in position to take the free kick. It was Farquhar who ran forward and swerved the ball low past the wall to leave Ridgers stranded with the ball to his left in the corner of the net.
As Clach fought to get back into the game, Macleod made a long clearing header and Graeme Reid did well to stop Bone on the 18-yard line. Then, when Lawrie crossed low from the Clach left, Bell smothered it carefully in front of the near post.
Academy’s next attack in the 41st minute was rewarded with the third goal. There seemed no real danger when Cowie’s high looping cross from the right fell near MacDonald but the big defender inexplicably kicked it forcefully towards his own goal. The ball rebounded off Ridgers towards Shearer who, from eight yards, steered it low into the net.
Just before the break Macleod assured his side’s first-half clean sheet by meeting a Lawrie free kick with a brave header to deflect the ball away from Davie Ross who was lurking eight yards from goal ready to head it into the net.
The visitors made a determined start to the second period. Bell caught a high cross from MacCuish from the Clach left and watched as Bone cut in from a similar position to flash a drive low across the face of goal and out beyond the far post. Farquhar was back on the six-yard line to nod the ball away when Kerr lobbed it into the goalmouth.
The pressure paid off in the 51st minute when Lawrie split the Wick defence with a through ball and from near the penalty spot Bone volleyed it first time past Bell’s left shoulder.
Manson crossed from the Wick left and the ball just eluded Weir in front of goal. Cowie nipped in to meet it at the back post. When he flicked it towards goal it appeared to deflect off Jarvie but referee Hamill and his assistant Paul Grant insisted on a goal kick. In the 57th minute Shearer almost netted a fourth goal, sliding in to stab the ball inches the wrong side of the upright.
Not many Highland League teams can afford the luxury of a Scottish international player on the bench but Martin Gunn had missed the last two weeks of pre-season due to a holiday. The Academy skipper came on at this point to replace Weir, whose tireless running and nifty footwork were to win him the sponsor’s Man of the Match award. Gunn was soon involved in the action. He sent a through ball into the Clach box but MacDonald cut it out just before it reached Shearer. Gunn then found Cowie with a neat pass, though the right winger’s cross to Manson was intercepted by the head of Neill.
Macadie had been scurrying around all the game, fetching, carrying and covering and he looked tired as he mistimed a tackle on Bone 25 yards in front of goal. Player-manager David Mackay took the free kick but drove it just wide of Bell’s left hand post. Macadie then left the field to deserved applause and 17-year-old Martin Bain made his first team competitive debut.
Man of the Match Gary Weir receives his trophy from Rob Murray, of match sponsor ITP Solutions.
Clach were now well on top but time was running out for them. With 75 minutes played, a cross from the right by Neill was cleared for a corner by Macleod, and then Mowat stopped Macdonald as he moved into the area on the Clach left and also conceded a corner. Bone was fouled 20 yards from goal and Lawrie tapped the free kick to MacCuish whose lofted shot was well caught at full stretch by Bell.
Gunn and Cowie brought their team-mates some respite, taking the ball down the right, and Manson joined them to keep play near the corner flag. Eventually Cowie chipped the ball into the middle to Shearer who directed a looping header goalwards but without the pace or power to trouble Ridgers.
Academy fans had to suffer a fraught ten minutes after Neill was allowed to turn onto a loose ball in the middle of the area and fire it unchallenged high into the net to Bell’s left.
Macleod headed a Jarvie free kick out of the goalmouth and substitute Chris Sutherland missed from close range. As the game went into stoppage time Academy’s third substitute, Stewart Ross, took the ball down the left and was fouled. However the visitors attacked one last time and Bain matched Neill stride for stride in a race up the Clach right and shepherded the ball out for a goal kick.
It may have been tense during those final minutes but Budge’s team held on to deservedly claim their second round place and an away tie with Ross County.
Speaking after the game, Budge said: “After five pre-season games this was our first competitive game so the result was very important. In the first half we did very well, there was a sharpness about our play and we scored three excellent goals.
“We knew that Rod Houston would have his team geed up for the second half so we tried to combat that. But psychologically when you’re three-nil up the tendency is to drop deeper and play safe. Unfortunately we were caught out by doing that.
But, at the end of the day, it was a great result to beat a solid attacking team like Clach and I am delighted.”
Clach’s Houston said: “That was the classic game of two halves, wasn’t it? In the first half, from our point of view, some of the defending was just catastrophic and that gave us a huge handicap.
“We settled down at half time, looked at what had happened, looked at how we could react to it and, in truth, I thought we ran the second half. We were very good playing up into the wind and the fact that we sustained that right through the second half makes me pleased with the fitness levels.
“I was also very pleased with our attitude in getting back into the game and taking it forward from there. That second-half performance is something we will be looking to build on when we head for Cove on Saturday for our first league game.”
Wick Academy: Bell, Reid, Lamb, Mowat, Macleod, Shearer, Cowie, Farquhar, Weir (Gunn 58), Manson (Ross 87), Macadie (Bain 70). Unused subs: Shaun Sinclair, McGee.
Clachnacuddin: Ridgers, MacCuish, Jarvie, MacDonald, MacKenzie, Mackay, Lawrie, D. Ross (Sutherland 70), Bone, Kerr, Neill. Unused subs: McCraw, G. Ross, Maclean, C. Ross.
Referee: R. Hamill.
#################
UMAX North of Scotland Cup
####################
Wick Academy 3 V Inverness Clach 2
Wick goals by Andrew MacLeod, Gary Farquhar and Craig Shearer
At Harmsworth Park, Wick - 3 p.m
Other scores
##########
Forres Mechanics 2 v 0 Lossiemouth
Ross County 6 v 0 Brora Rangers
Wick 3 V Clach 2 - report from www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk website
Delight as Academy start season with a win
Wick Academy 3, Clach 2
Published: 02 August, 2006
A ROAR of acclaim rang out at 3.41pm on Saturday, the like of which had not been heard for some years at Harmsworth Park. Around 150 supporters were celebrating the goal from Craig Shearer which brought the score in the UMAX North of Scotland cup tie to Wick Academy 3, Clachnacuddin 0.
An hour later those same fans, even the agnostics and atheists among them, were praying for referee Ross Hamill to blow the final whistle. The score was now 3-2 and the 40 or so followers of the Inverness side were the ones making a noise as they urged their team to take the game into extra time. Peter Budge’s lads held out to earn a win for their manager in the first competitive game of the new season and the faithful breathed a sigh of relief.
Attacking down the slope the visitors kept possession in the Wick half in the early minutes until Andrew Neill clipped Gary Manson’s heels on the edge of the area. Sixteen-year-old goalkeeper Daniel Bell, making his debut, hoisted the free kick high up into the Clach half.
Play was then restricted to close to the Clach right touch line for a lengthy spell with several throw-ins, mostly in Academy’s favour. In the sixth minute, Steven MacDonald tripped Gary Weir on the halfway line and a quickly-taken free kick switched play over to the other wing where, after a Wick throw, Darren Jarvie cleared the ball downfield. It was immediately returned and Weir and Shearer played a promising one-two through the middle. There were early signs that Weir’s ability to shield and dribble the ball with his size 12 boots was causing concern to opposing defenders.
Clach launched a swift counterattack with Blair Lawrie’s long crossfield pass from left to right to the feet of Neill. His cross gave Shaun Kerr the first shooting chance of the game but Bell dived low to his left to hold the ball.
In the 12th minute, Davie Mowat bustled his way forward 40 yards with the ball and although he lost possession Shearer retrieved it for Weir. The youngster did well to dodge several tackles as he shuffled with the ball along the 18-yard line and set up Shearer whose 14-yard shot was beaten away by keeper Ally Ridgers.
Play swung from end to end. A long range shot from Neil MacCuish dipped just over Bell’s crossbar, crosses from Alex Lamb on the left and Cowie on the right were directed too much towards Ridgers who caught them with ease. A 30-yard effort from Bone sailed high over the Wick bar, but then, in the 22nd minute, the veteran striker was only 10 yards from goal as Neill passed to him from the right. As Bone volleyed the ball goalwards Lamb leapt forward to deflect it for the first corner of the game.
Four minutes later Cowie cut in from the Wick right and fired a low cross which bounced off Jarvie’s shin for a corner. Richard Macadie flighted the corner kick to just beyond the back post and Andrew Macleod timed his run and high jump to perfection, powering in a header which left Ridgers helpless.
In the 33rd minute, Weir was taken down 22 yards in front of the Clach goal. As the visitors lined up their defensive wall, Macadie and Gary Farquhar were both in position to take the free kick. It was Farquhar who ran forward and swerved the ball low past the wall to leave Ridgers stranded with the ball to his left in the corner of the net.
As Clach fought to get back into the game, Macleod made a long clearing header and Graeme Reid did well to stop Bone on the 18-yard line. Then, when Lawrie crossed low from the Clach left, Bell smothered it carefully in front of the near post.
Academy’s next attack in the 41st minute was rewarded with the third goal. There seemed no real danger when Cowie’s high looping cross from the right fell near MacDonald but the big defender inexplicably kicked it forcefully towards his own goal. The ball rebounded off Ridgers towards Shearer who, from eight yards, steered it low into the net.
Just before the break Macleod assured his side’s first-half clean sheet by meeting a Lawrie free kick with a brave header to deflect the ball away from Davie Ross who was lurking eight yards from goal ready to head it into the net.
The visitors made a determined start to the second period. Bell caught a high cross from MacCuish from the Clach left and watched as Bone cut in from a similar position to flash a drive low across the face of goal and out beyond the far post. Farquhar was back on the six-yard line to nod the ball away when Kerr lobbed it into the goalmouth.
The pressure paid off in the 51st minute when Lawrie split the Wick defence with a through ball and from near the penalty spot Bone volleyed it first time past Bell’s left shoulder.
Manson crossed from the Wick left and the ball just eluded Weir in front of goal. Cowie nipped in to meet it at the back post. When he flicked it towards goal it appeared to deflect off Jarvie but referee Hamill and his assistant Paul Grant insisted on a goal kick. In the 57th minute Shearer almost netted a fourth goal, sliding in to stab the ball inches the wrong side of the upright.
Not many Highland League teams can afford the luxury of a Scottish international player on the bench but Martin Gunn had missed the last two weeks of pre-season due to a holiday. The Academy skipper came on at this point to replace Weir, whose tireless running and nifty footwork were to win him the sponsor’s Man of the Match award. Gunn was soon involved in the action. He sent a through ball into the Clach box but MacDonald cut it out just before it reached Shearer. Gunn then found Cowie with a neat pass, though the right winger’s cross to Manson was intercepted by the head of Neill.
Macadie had been scurrying around all the game, fetching, carrying and covering and he looked tired as he mistimed a tackle on Bone 25 yards in front of goal. Player-manager David Mackay took the free kick but drove it just wide of Bell’s left hand post. Macadie then left the field to deserved applause and 17-year-old Martin Bain made his first team competitive debut.
Man of the Match Gary Weir receives his trophy from Rob Murray, of match sponsor ITP Solutions.
Clach were now well on top but time was running out for them. With 75 minutes played, a cross from the right by Neill was cleared for a corner by Macleod, and then Mowat stopped Macdonald as he moved into the area on the Clach left and also conceded a corner. Bone was fouled 20 yards from goal and Lawrie tapped the free kick to MacCuish whose lofted shot was well caught at full stretch by Bell.
Gunn and Cowie brought their team-mates some respite, taking the ball down the right, and Manson joined them to keep play near the corner flag. Eventually Cowie chipped the ball into the middle to Shearer who directed a looping header goalwards but without the pace or power to trouble Ridgers.
Academy fans had to suffer a fraught ten minutes after Neill was allowed to turn onto a loose ball in the middle of the area and fire it unchallenged high into the net to Bell’s left.
Macleod headed a Jarvie free kick out of the goalmouth and substitute Chris Sutherland missed from close range. As the game went into stoppage time Academy’s third substitute, Stewart Ross, took the ball down the left and was fouled. However the visitors attacked one last time and Bain matched Neill stride for stride in a race up the Clach right and shepherded the ball out for a goal kick.
It may have been tense during those final minutes but Budge’s team held on to deservedly claim their second round place and an away tie with Ross County.
Speaking after the game, Budge said: “After five pre-season games this was our first competitive game so the result was very important. In the first half we did very well, there was a sharpness about our play and we scored three excellent goals.
“We knew that Rod Houston would have his team geed up for the second half so we tried to combat that. But psychologically when you’re three-nil up the tendency is to drop deeper and play safe. Unfortunately we were caught out by doing that.
But, at the end of the day, it was a great result to beat a solid attacking team like Clach and I am delighted.”
Clach’s Houston said: “That was the classic game of two halves, wasn’t it? In the first half, from our point of view, some of the defending was just catastrophic and that gave us a huge handicap.
“We settled down at half time, looked at what had happened, looked at how we could react to it and, in truth, I thought we ran the second half. We were very good playing up into the wind and the fact that we sustained that right through the second half makes me pleased with the fitness levels.
“I was also very pleased with our attitude in getting back into the game and taking it forward from there. That second-half performance is something we will be looking to build on when we head for Cove on Saturday for our first league game.”
Wick Academy: Bell, Reid, Lamb, Mowat, Macleod, Shearer, Cowie, Farquhar, Weir (Gunn 58), Manson (Ross 87), Macadie (Bain 70). Unused subs: Shaun Sinclair, McGee.
Clachnacuddin: Ridgers, MacCuish, Jarvie, MacDonald, MacKenzie, Mackay, Lawrie, D. Ross (Sutherland 70), Bone, Kerr, Neill. Unused subs: McCraw, G. Ross, Maclean, C. Ross.
Referee: R. Hamill.