Post by Brian Mackay on Aug 3, 2007 17:06:51 GMT
Saturday - David Allan Shield final
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Castletown 0 v Thurso Swifts 1 (in Castletown 3pm)
Monday - Steven Cup (7pm)
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FSC 0 v Wick Groats 2
Tuesday – Division One (7.15pm)
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Thurso Swifts 4 v John O'Groats 2
(double header for also JOG V Swifts to be played at Ormlie)
Thursday – Portland Bowl
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Caithness 8 v Sutherland 0 (Sir George's Park, Thurso, 7pm)
report from JOG journal website
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Caithness too hot to handle in Portland Bowl clash
Caithness 8, Sutherland 0
Published: 15 August, 2007 - by Iain Grant - iain-grant@ukf.net
SUTHERLAND's miserable run in the Portland Bowl continued at Sir George's Park, Thurso, with this heavy reverse at the hands of their county neighbours.
A 2-1 defeat for Caithness in Wick in 2001 remains their only blip since the historic fixture was revived in 1999.
Once again, the visitors were solely represented by east coast teams, raising the question of why they do not consider drawing on the pool of talent from the North-West Sutherland League.
The fixture, due at the start of June, was rescheduled to last Thursday evening when a sparse crowd enjoyed one of the summer's rare bright and still evenings.
The pattern of the game was clear from the outset, with Caithness methodically shaping attacks with some sparky possession play.
Sutherland's struggle to impose themselves going forward was reflected in home keeper Michael Gray having to wait until 20 minutes for his first involvement.
Within the first minute, Caithness had manufactured an opening when Chris Sutherland's cross was just overcooked for the inrushing Stewart Ross. A neat, triangular move then saw Nigel MacKenzie and Ross combine to almost put Sutherland in.
After 12 minutes a deep, hanging cross from Ross was misfielded by visiting keeper James Mackay at the expense of a corner. The diminutive Golspie goalie recovered from that early wobble to impress with a number of fine reaction saves and brave blocks.
Mackay was helpless to prevent his side falling behind on 14 minutes. Gavin Henderson's sweeping pass sent Sutherland scuttling down the right flank and his inswinging cross was firmly dispatched by Graeme Reid.
Mackay's goal somehow escaped without further loss during a subsequent onslaught.
A close-range Sutherland shot was beaten away by Graham Grant, while Helmsdale colleague Robert Flett threw himself into the path of Jamie MacKenzie's net-bound volley.
In between, Mackay tipped over a Henderson thunderbolt and then watched at the resultant corner as goalpost-minder Flett got a touch to turn away Reid's glancing header.
A slide-rule pass from Lee MacDougall after 18 minutes opened up the defence but Mackay was on hand to rush out and block Sutherland's first-time shot.
Gray's first touch two minutes later was a vital one, beating away a wicked deflection from a corner by Gordon Macrae. It proved a moment's respite for the hard-pressed Sutherland defence.
Jamie MacKenzie shot narrowly over before a perfectly-weighted pass from Nigel MacKenzie invited a MacDougall volley which just missed the target.
After 25 minutes, there was a double let-off for Sutherland when Colin Davidson's cross was headed by Nigel MacKenzie against the junction of the crossbar and the right post. Mackay pounced to gather Nigel MacKenzie's follow-up.
The second goal came on 28 minutes after Jamie MacKenzie was fouled near the edge of the 18-yard box. MacDougall picked out Reid's run to the near post and the Swifts defender's aerial prowess did the rest.
Caithness's movement and pace troubled their opponents in all areas of the park. Sutherland continued to defend stoutly, with their only real sparks of invention in attack coming from the pacy Wick-based John Farquhar.
The third goal was created by a marvellous long-range run by Graham MacDonald after 33 minutes. His lay-off was turned against the right post by Jamie MacKenzie.
The rebound landed at MacDougall's feet near the by-line. He skipped past a defender and his low cross was deflected to Jamie MacKenzie who could barely miss.
Sutherland started the second half brightly and they were unfortunate not to get a goal back after 48 minutes.
Stuart Florence marred an otherwise industrious display with a miskick which looked to have left Sean Henstridge with a clear passage to goal.
The John O'Groats striker, whose current teaching spell at Lairg won him his first county cap, ran through to tuck the ball past Gray but had his celebration cut short when referee Bob Gunn was alerted to the offside flag raised by assistant Suleiman Makhouli.
That effectively signalled the end of the contest as Caithness went on to dominate the game and run up a score which could easily have reached double figures.
Nigel MacKenzie made it 4-0 after 52 minutes when he fired into the roof of the net after Mackay had parried Jamie MacKenzie's close-range effort.
After 63 minutes, Reid was denied his hat-trick when he rose to net Gavin Henderson's free kick wide on the right. Mr Gunn ruled out the effort for a push either by Reid or Jamie MacKenzie.
Jamie MacKenzie missed a snip from just about the goal-line before he created the space for MacDougall to score from an acute angle in 66 minutes.
Sutherland were now at sixes and sevens and within a minute of the restart conceded again when Jamie MacKenzie grabbed his second.
Sandy Sutherland got in on the act after 77 minutes when he got on the end of MacDougall's feed.
Fellow substitute Steven Campbell also had a decent shot and a header on target in quick succession, both well held by Mackay.
A high-velocity, angled strike from Henderson whizzed past Mackay and thudded back into play off the inside of the left post after 81 minutes.
The rout was rounded off five minutes from time when MacDougall's dangerous cross was turned into his own net by Sutherland substitute Adam Sutherland.
Caithness manager Stevie Reid was happy with how his side went about completing an inter-county double following their penalty shoot-out triumph in Orkney.
He said: "I thought we played some really good football, especially in the first half when the game was still in the balance. Sutherland settled well early on, but once we got into our stride and started knocking the ball about we got on top.
"I was delighted with the way the boys went about it. Everyone played their part, including the subs, who all did really well when they came on."
Caithness: Gray, Davidson (Campbell 66), Florence (Bell 64), MacDonald, Reid, Henderson, N. MacKenzie, J. MacKenzie, Ross (Sinclair 53), C. Sutherland (S. Sutherland 34), MacDougall.
Sutherland: Mackay, MacRae, Grant, Cowie, Duncan, Farquhar, Flett (Sutherland 62), Urquhart, Henstridge (MacNab 75), Dunoon, Caunter.
Referee: R. Gunn.
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Castletown 0 v Thurso Swifts 1 (in Castletown 3pm)
Monday - Steven Cup (7pm)
###################
FSC 0 v Wick Groats 2
Tuesday – Division One (7.15pm)
######################
Thurso Swifts 4 v John O'Groats 2
(double header for also JOG V Swifts to be played at Ormlie)
Thursday – Portland Bowl
##################
Caithness 8 v Sutherland 0 (Sir George's Park, Thurso, 7pm)
report from JOG journal website
#####################
Caithness too hot to handle in Portland Bowl clash
Caithness 8, Sutherland 0
Published: 15 August, 2007 - by Iain Grant - iain-grant@ukf.net
SUTHERLAND's miserable run in the Portland Bowl continued at Sir George's Park, Thurso, with this heavy reverse at the hands of their county neighbours.
A 2-1 defeat for Caithness in Wick in 2001 remains their only blip since the historic fixture was revived in 1999.
Once again, the visitors were solely represented by east coast teams, raising the question of why they do not consider drawing on the pool of talent from the North-West Sutherland League.
The fixture, due at the start of June, was rescheduled to last Thursday evening when a sparse crowd enjoyed one of the summer's rare bright and still evenings.
The pattern of the game was clear from the outset, with Caithness methodically shaping attacks with some sparky possession play.
Sutherland's struggle to impose themselves going forward was reflected in home keeper Michael Gray having to wait until 20 minutes for his first involvement.
Within the first minute, Caithness had manufactured an opening when Chris Sutherland's cross was just overcooked for the inrushing Stewart Ross. A neat, triangular move then saw Nigel MacKenzie and Ross combine to almost put Sutherland in.
After 12 minutes a deep, hanging cross from Ross was misfielded by visiting keeper James Mackay at the expense of a corner. The diminutive Golspie goalie recovered from that early wobble to impress with a number of fine reaction saves and brave blocks.
Mackay was helpless to prevent his side falling behind on 14 minutes. Gavin Henderson's sweeping pass sent Sutherland scuttling down the right flank and his inswinging cross was firmly dispatched by Graeme Reid.
Mackay's goal somehow escaped without further loss during a subsequent onslaught.
A close-range Sutherland shot was beaten away by Graham Grant, while Helmsdale colleague Robert Flett threw himself into the path of Jamie MacKenzie's net-bound volley.
In between, Mackay tipped over a Henderson thunderbolt and then watched at the resultant corner as goalpost-minder Flett got a touch to turn away Reid's glancing header.
A slide-rule pass from Lee MacDougall after 18 minutes opened up the defence but Mackay was on hand to rush out and block Sutherland's first-time shot.
Gray's first touch two minutes later was a vital one, beating away a wicked deflection from a corner by Gordon Macrae. It proved a moment's respite for the hard-pressed Sutherland defence.
Jamie MacKenzie shot narrowly over before a perfectly-weighted pass from Nigel MacKenzie invited a MacDougall volley which just missed the target.
After 25 minutes, there was a double let-off for Sutherland when Colin Davidson's cross was headed by Nigel MacKenzie against the junction of the crossbar and the right post. Mackay pounced to gather Nigel MacKenzie's follow-up.
The second goal came on 28 minutes after Jamie MacKenzie was fouled near the edge of the 18-yard box. MacDougall picked out Reid's run to the near post and the Swifts defender's aerial prowess did the rest.
Caithness's movement and pace troubled their opponents in all areas of the park. Sutherland continued to defend stoutly, with their only real sparks of invention in attack coming from the pacy Wick-based John Farquhar.
The third goal was created by a marvellous long-range run by Graham MacDonald after 33 minutes. His lay-off was turned against the right post by Jamie MacKenzie.
The rebound landed at MacDougall's feet near the by-line. He skipped past a defender and his low cross was deflected to Jamie MacKenzie who could barely miss.
Sutherland started the second half brightly and they were unfortunate not to get a goal back after 48 minutes.
Stuart Florence marred an otherwise industrious display with a miskick which looked to have left Sean Henstridge with a clear passage to goal.
The John O'Groats striker, whose current teaching spell at Lairg won him his first county cap, ran through to tuck the ball past Gray but had his celebration cut short when referee Bob Gunn was alerted to the offside flag raised by assistant Suleiman Makhouli.
That effectively signalled the end of the contest as Caithness went on to dominate the game and run up a score which could easily have reached double figures.
Nigel MacKenzie made it 4-0 after 52 minutes when he fired into the roof of the net after Mackay had parried Jamie MacKenzie's close-range effort.
After 63 minutes, Reid was denied his hat-trick when he rose to net Gavin Henderson's free kick wide on the right. Mr Gunn ruled out the effort for a push either by Reid or Jamie MacKenzie.
Jamie MacKenzie missed a snip from just about the goal-line before he created the space for MacDougall to score from an acute angle in 66 minutes.
Sutherland were now at sixes and sevens and within a minute of the restart conceded again when Jamie MacKenzie grabbed his second.
Sandy Sutherland got in on the act after 77 minutes when he got on the end of MacDougall's feed.
Fellow substitute Steven Campbell also had a decent shot and a header on target in quick succession, both well held by Mackay.
A high-velocity, angled strike from Henderson whizzed past Mackay and thudded back into play off the inside of the left post after 81 minutes.
The rout was rounded off five minutes from time when MacDougall's dangerous cross was turned into his own net by Sutherland substitute Adam Sutherland.
Caithness manager Stevie Reid was happy with how his side went about completing an inter-county double following their penalty shoot-out triumph in Orkney.
He said: "I thought we played some really good football, especially in the first half when the game was still in the balance. Sutherland settled well early on, but once we got into our stride and started knocking the ball about we got on top.
"I was delighted with the way the boys went about it. Everyone played their part, including the subs, who all did really well when they came on."
Caithness: Gray, Davidson (Campbell 66), Florence (Bell 64), MacDonald, Reid, Henderson, N. MacKenzie, J. MacKenzie, Ross (Sinclair 53), C. Sutherland (S. Sutherland 34), MacDougall.
Sutherland: Mackay, MacRae, Grant, Cowie, Duncan, Farquhar, Flett (Sutherland 62), Urquhart, Henstridge (MacNab 75), Dunoon, Caunter.
Referee: R. Gunn.