Post by Brian Mackay on Jun 22, 2007 11:20:48 GMT
United go top ahead of crunch match
By Iain Grant - iain-grant@ukf.net
Published: 22 June, 2007
A SECOND successive single-goal victory on their travels helped Pentland United regain top spot in the County League first division on Wednesday. They take pole position on goal difference from Castletown to set up a tasty-looking tussle when the sides meet next week in Dunnet.
United were made to sweat before completing a league double over Acks with a 2-1 win at the Dammies.
There was little to choose between the sides on the run of the first half, which ended with the visitors one goal to the good. The breakthrough came from a Scott Begg free kick which was helped on by Ross Sutherland to Grant Budge, who netted with a well-placed header.
Budge struck the crossbar with a header early in the second period before Willie Inrig made it 2-0 from Budge's assist.
Acks got one back 15 minutes from time with a glorious strike by youngster Chris Wann. In a torrid finale which saw a clutch of bookings, Budge volleyed just wide after a Beckham-esque delivery from Gary Mackay.
Swifts found Acks a tough nut to crack in Monday's Thurso derby at the Dammies. Stevie Reid's men looked out of sorts before recording a 3-2 victory which keeps the top two in their sights.
Mark Nichol scored at the second attempt to give them an early lead. Acks battled back to equalise 10 minutes before the interval when Gary MacLeod headed into the unguarded net after Swifts keeper Lee Allan had parried Murray Coghill's rising shot.
MacLeod almost put Acks ahead with a lob after Allan's rash charge from his goal.
Swifts appeared to have made the game safe when they struck twice in the 10 minutes after the turnaround. Lee MacDougall's back-post cross was headed in by Nigel MacKenzie before John Holmes slotted home from 12 yards.
But within a minute Acks reduced the deficit when Mac-Leod was sent through to finish with aplomb.
Swifts' cause was helped by the red card shown to Steven Miller for a rush of blood which saw him lunge at MacDougall after the pair had clashed.
Gavin Bremner – playing his fourth game in a week as a trialist for a third club – had a chance to tie things up but failed to convert when put clean through.
Wick Rovers went on a goal frenzy at the Upper Bignold on Wednesday when they rattled in nine against town rivals Thistle.
The first half had all the hallmarks of a typical fiercely-fought derby, but Thistle caved in after the interval to sustain one of their biggest-ever thrashings.
There was no hint of what was to come when Mark Thain headed home from a corner to give Thistle a fourth-minute lead. Within 15 minutes, a Lee Lyall double and a powerful header from defender Stevie Muir had Rovers in the driving seat.
That was how it stood until the break – but by 65 minutes Sanders Harper's men were 6-1 up and out of sight. Stevie Reid struck twice, with Paul MacDonald and Andrew Weir also on the scoresheet.
The pick of the strikes were a 30-yard thunderbolt from serial trialist Bremner and a marvellous solo effort from his own half by Alan Sinclair.
Halkirk had earlier shown plenty of grit in coming from behind to secure a last-gasp 2-1 win over Thistle at Recreation Park.
The short-handed home side enjoyed most of the possession in the first period but ran out of ideas at the business end. They went closest to breaking the deadlock when Luke Sawyer struck the bar, while John Farquhar had a couple of decent efforts at the other end.
Shortly after the interval, Sawyer – making his first appearance of the season – was denied by a brave block from keeper Graeme Williamson.
Halkirk were incensed not to get a penalty when Stevie Campbell appeared to be levelled in the box.
Insult was added to injury when the Wick side broke straight up the park and took the lead. Keeper Stuart MacCulloch parried Farquhar's shot but Brian Davidson nipped in to net the rebound.
Halkirk drew level midway through the half when Sawyer crossed for Liam Mackay. The youngster's shot cracked back off the bar but Paul Mackay was on hand to score with a follow-up header.
Halkirk's last chance of winning appeared to have gone when Paul Mackay missed the target from close in with two minutes remaining. But there was still time for them to claim all three points when Ian Adamson's 25-yard free kick deflected off Chris Gunn into the back of the net.
John O'Groats' up-and-down season continued on Tuesday when they ground out a 2-0 win over Thurso Pentland at the Dammies.
The visitors had the clearer openings in an evenly-contested first half. They took the lead 10 minutes after the restart when the home defence failed to clear a corner and Graham Tait swept the ball past rookie keeper Scott Davidson.
Pentland came close to equalising within a minute when new signing Wheeler McIntyre was inches away from netting with an angled shot.
Stevie Henderson also went close with a free kick before John O'Groats got a killer second 10 minutes from the end. Dave Green's through ball found Calum Campbell, who gave Davidson no chance with a crisp strike from the edge of the box which went in off the inside of the right post.
Rovers had earlier prolonged Pentland's losing streak with a comfortable 4-1 win in Wick.
Bryan McKiddie scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, first with a close-in strike and then with a fine first-time finish after John Harper had done the donkey-work.
The game was as good as done a minute later when Bremner set up McKiddie to make it 3-0.
Henderson got one back three minutes from the interval with a cracking 35 yard free kick.
Pentland had a couple of half-chances in the third quarter but Rovers sealed victory when Andrew Weir netted following a corner after 65 minutes.
Keiss have been breaking all-time club scoring records this season. Their latest two games have seen them rattle in 18 to gather six points which all but secures them promotion.
Graham MacNab scored a classic hat-trick in their 8-1 rout of Top Joe's at Ormlie. The youngster grabbed the first three goals of the game and Colin Mackenzie added a fourth before half-time. But the feat was later put in the shade by Colin's brother Andrew, who registered what was only his second goal in 10 years. His previous effort had been on the same pitch.
Dean Salim and Peter Niwa kept the scoreboard ticking over before TJ's got one back when Brett Morris netted after Keiss keeper Alan Stewart had blocked a penalty. Niwa had the final say when he ran through to notch his second of the evening.
Niwa opened the scoring with a raking 25-yarder in his side's 10-2 home thrashing of Ashes. MacNab added four more, with Niwa getting a second.
Salim (2), Colin Banks (penalty) and Gordon Rosie completed the scoring for the rampant villagers.
Ashes scored late on through substitute Lee Cooper and Ricky Flowerday – the latter finishing off the best move of the evening.
Top Joe's suffered another heavy defeat on Tuesday at home to Lybster. Roy Weir struck twice in his side's 8-1 victory.
* The Caithness under-18 select just fell short in their clash with Orkney in Kirkwall on Saturday. They went down 2-1 after a late onslaught failed to produce an equaliser which would have taken the Corinthian Cup encounter into extra time.
Orkney went into the match on the back of an impressive 1-0 win over Shetland three days earlier. The Caithness squad, in contrast, were playing together for the first time.
The visitors were unfazed, however, and the first half proved to be a competitive affair. There were few chances at either end until Orkney took a 35th-minute lead following a breakdown in communication between Caithness keeper Graeme Williamson and his Wick Thistle team-mate Sean Stewart.
Caithness adopted a more attacking formation after the break, with Bryan McKiddie pulling the strings for them in midfield. They pushed hard for an equaliser, Gary Bell twice going close with a shot and a header, only for the islanders to double their lead midway through the half.
Caithness got one back when substitute Liam Mackay was fouled in the box and McKiddie stroked home the spot-kick. In the latter stages they laid siege to the Orkney goal but without reward.
As reported in Wednesday's Courier, the Caithness senior select regained the Archer Shield when they beat Orkney 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after the sides were level at 1-1.
* Five Caithness sides are in third-round action in the MacLeod IFA Highland Amateur Cup tomorrow.
The trio on the road all face Western Isles opponents who all have a good recent pedigree in the tournament. Swifts will miss the suspended Jamie MacKenzie for the visit of cup holders Avoch. John O'Groats, at home to Kyleakin, perhaps represent the county's best hope of making it through to the last eight.
* Fixtures: Tomorrow (Saturday) – Mac-leod IFA Highland Amateur Cup, third round (3.00 unless otherwise stated): John O'Groats v Kyleakin; Lochs v Wick Thistle (in Ullapool, 12.45); Stornoway Athletic v Pentland United (in, Avoch 12.30); Swifts v Avoch; Wick Rovers v Point (in Fortrose, 12.30).
Monday (7.30) – County League, Division One: John O'Groats v Halkirk; Pentland United v Thurso Pentland; Rovers v Acks; Swifts v Wick Thistle.
Tuesday (7.30) – Division Two: FSC v Keiss; Lybster v Ashes. Wednesday (7.30) – Division One: Wick Rovers v Swifts.
Thursday (7.30) – Division One: Pentland United v Castletown. Division Two: Top Joe's v Wick Groats.
* Results – Inter-county matches – Seniors: Orkney 1, Caithness 1 (AET; Caithness won 5-4 on penalties). Under-18s: Orkney 2, Caithness 1.
County League, Division One: Acks 1, Pentland United 2; Halkirk 2, Wick Thistle 1; Wick Rovers 4, Thurso Pentland 1; Swifts 3, Acks 2; Thurso Pentland 0, John O'Groats 2; Wick Thistle 1, Wick Rovers 9.
Division Two: Keiss 10, Ashes 2; Top Joe's 1, Keiss 8; Top Joe's 1, Lybster 8.
* Seven teams took part in the seven-a-side over-35 charity tournament in Thurso on Saturday for the Roddy Gray Memorial Cup. The hosts, Thurso Comm, and an Inverness side skippered by Jimmy Gray ended up the top two in the round-robin competition. A competitive series of games saw Halkirk and last year's winners, Kirkwall Thorfinn, just edged out.
In the final, Comm took the lead before Inverness levelled to set up a penalty-kick decider. All 14 players were required, with the final action seeing keeper Jimmy Gray – who had pulled off several great stops – shooting wide and his counterpart Calum Angus converting.
By Iain Grant - iain-grant@ukf.net
Published: 22 June, 2007
A SECOND successive single-goal victory on their travels helped Pentland United regain top spot in the County League first division on Wednesday. They take pole position on goal difference from Castletown to set up a tasty-looking tussle when the sides meet next week in Dunnet.
United were made to sweat before completing a league double over Acks with a 2-1 win at the Dammies.
There was little to choose between the sides on the run of the first half, which ended with the visitors one goal to the good. The breakthrough came from a Scott Begg free kick which was helped on by Ross Sutherland to Grant Budge, who netted with a well-placed header.
Budge struck the crossbar with a header early in the second period before Willie Inrig made it 2-0 from Budge's assist.
Acks got one back 15 minutes from time with a glorious strike by youngster Chris Wann. In a torrid finale which saw a clutch of bookings, Budge volleyed just wide after a Beckham-esque delivery from Gary Mackay.
Swifts found Acks a tough nut to crack in Monday's Thurso derby at the Dammies. Stevie Reid's men looked out of sorts before recording a 3-2 victory which keeps the top two in their sights.
Mark Nichol scored at the second attempt to give them an early lead. Acks battled back to equalise 10 minutes before the interval when Gary MacLeod headed into the unguarded net after Swifts keeper Lee Allan had parried Murray Coghill's rising shot.
MacLeod almost put Acks ahead with a lob after Allan's rash charge from his goal.
Swifts appeared to have made the game safe when they struck twice in the 10 minutes after the turnaround. Lee MacDougall's back-post cross was headed in by Nigel MacKenzie before John Holmes slotted home from 12 yards.
But within a minute Acks reduced the deficit when Mac-Leod was sent through to finish with aplomb.
Swifts' cause was helped by the red card shown to Steven Miller for a rush of blood which saw him lunge at MacDougall after the pair had clashed.
Gavin Bremner – playing his fourth game in a week as a trialist for a third club – had a chance to tie things up but failed to convert when put clean through.
Wick Rovers went on a goal frenzy at the Upper Bignold on Wednesday when they rattled in nine against town rivals Thistle.
The first half had all the hallmarks of a typical fiercely-fought derby, but Thistle caved in after the interval to sustain one of their biggest-ever thrashings.
There was no hint of what was to come when Mark Thain headed home from a corner to give Thistle a fourth-minute lead. Within 15 minutes, a Lee Lyall double and a powerful header from defender Stevie Muir had Rovers in the driving seat.
That was how it stood until the break – but by 65 minutes Sanders Harper's men were 6-1 up and out of sight. Stevie Reid struck twice, with Paul MacDonald and Andrew Weir also on the scoresheet.
The pick of the strikes were a 30-yard thunderbolt from serial trialist Bremner and a marvellous solo effort from his own half by Alan Sinclair.
Halkirk had earlier shown plenty of grit in coming from behind to secure a last-gasp 2-1 win over Thistle at Recreation Park.
The short-handed home side enjoyed most of the possession in the first period but ran out of ideas at the business end. They went closest to breaking the deadlock when Luke Sawyer struck the bar, while John Farquhar had a couple of decent efforts at the other end.
Shortly after the interval, Sawyer – making his first appearance of the season – was denied by a brave block from keeper Graeme Williamson.
Halkirk were incensed not to get a penalty when Stevie Campbell appeared to be levelled in the box.
Insult was added to injury when the Wick side broke straight up the park and took the lead. Keeper Stuart MacCulloch parried Farquhar's shot but Brian Davidson nipped in to net the rebound.
Halkirk drew level midway through the half when Sawyer crossed for Liam Mackay. The youngster's shot cracked back off the bar but Paul Mackay was on hand to score with a follow-up header.
Halkirk's last chance of winning appeared to have gone when Paul Mackay missed the target from close in with two minutes remaining. But there was still time for them to claim all three points when Ian Adamson's 25-yard free kick deflected off Chris Gunn into the back of the net.
John O'Groats' up-and-down season continued on Tuesday when they ground out a 2-0 win over Thurso Pentland at the Dammies.
The visitors had the clearer openings in an evenly-contested first half. They took the lead 10 minutes after the restart when the home defence failed to clear a corner and Graham Tait swept the ball past rookie keeper Scott Davidson.
Pentland came close to equalising within a minute when new signing Wheeler McIntyre was inches away from netting with an angled shot.
Stevie Henderson also went close with a free kick before John O'Groats got a killer second 10 minutes from the end. Dave Green's through ball found Calum Campbell, who gave Davidson no chance with a crisp strike from the edge of the box which went in off the inside of the right post.
Rovers had earlier prolonged Pentland's losing streak with a comfortable 4-1 win in Wick.
Bryan McKiddie scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, first with a close-in strike and then with a fine first-time finish after John Harper had done the donkey-work.
The game was as good as done a minute later when Bremner set up McKiddie to make it 3-0.
Henderson got one back three minutes from the interval with a cracking 35 yard free kick.
Pentland had a couple of half-chances in the third quarter but Rovers sealed victory when Andrew Weir netted following a corner after 65 minutes.
Keiss have been breaking all-time club scoring records this season. Their latest two games have seen them rattle in 18 to gather six points which all but secures them promotion.
Graham MacNab scored a classic hat-trick in their 8-1 rout of Top Joe's at Ormlie. The youngster grabbed the first three goals of the game and Colin Mackenzie added a fourth before half-time. But the feat was later put in the shade by Colin's brother Andrew, who registered what was only his second goal in 10 years. His previous effort had been on the same pitch.
Dean Salim and Peter Niwa kept the scoreboard ticking over before TJ's got one back when Brett Morris netted after Keiss keeper Alan Stewart had blocked a penalty. Niwa had the final say when he ran through to notch his second of the evening.
Niwa opened the scoring with a raking 25-yarder in his side's 10-2 home thrashing of Ashes. MacNab added four more, with Niwa getting a second.
Salim (2), Colin Banks (penalty) and Gordon Rosie completed the scoring for the rampant villagers.
Ashes scored late on through substitute Lee Cooper and Ricky Flowerday – the latter finishing off the best move of the evening.
Top Joe's suffered another heavy defeat on Tuesday at home to Lybster. Roy Weir struck twice in his side's 8-1 victory.
* The Caithness under-18 select just fell short in their clash with Orkney in Kirkwall on Saturday. They went down 2-1 after a late onslaught failed to produce an equaliser which would have taken the Corinthian Cup encounter into extra time.
Orkney went into the match on the back of an impressive 1-0 win over Shetland three days earlier. The Caithness squad, in contrast, were playing together for the first time.
The visitors were unfazed, however, and the first half proved to be a competitive affair. There were few chances at either end until Orkney took a 35th-minute lead following a breakdown in communication between Caithness keeper Graeme Williamson and his Wick Thistle team-mate Sean Stewart.
Caithness adopted a more attacking formation after the break, with Bryan McKiddie pulling the strings for them in midfield. They pushed hard for an equaliser, Gary Bell twice going close with a shot and a header, only for the islanders to double their lead midway through the half.
Caithness got one back when substitute Liam Mackay was fouled in the box and McKiddie stroked home the spot-kick. In the latter stages they laid siege to the Orkney goal but without reward.
As reported in Wednesday's Courier, the Caithness senior select regained the Archer Shield when they beat Orkney 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after the sides were level at 1-1.
* Five Caithness sides are in third-round action in the MacLeod IFA Highland Amateur Cup tomorrow.
The trio on the road all face Western Isles opponents who all have a good recent pedigree in the tournament. Swifts will miss the suspended Jamie MacKenzie for the visit of cup holders Avoch. John O'Groats, at home to Kyleakin, perhaps represent the county's best hope of making it through to the last eight.
* Fixtures: Tomorrow (Saturday) – Mac-leod IFA Highland Amateur Cup, third round (3.00 unless otherwise stated): John O'Groats v Kyleakin; Lochs v Wick Thistle (in Ullapool, 12.45); Stornoway Athletic v Pentland United (in, Avoch 12.30); Swifts v Avoch; Wick Rovers v Point (in Fortrose, 12.30).
Monday (7.30) – County League, Division One: John O'Groats v Halkirk; Pentland United v Thurso Pentland; Rovers v Acks; Swifts v Wick Thistle.
Tuesday (7.30) – Division Two: FSC v Keiss; Lybster v Ashes. Wednesday (7.30) – Division One: Wick Rovers v Swifts.
Thursday (7.30) – Division One: Pentland United v Castletown. Division Two: Top Joe's v Wick Groats.
* Results – Inter-county matches – Seniors: Orkney 1, Caithness 1 (AET; Caithness won 5-4 on penalties). Under-18s: Orkney 2, Caithness 1.
County League, Division One: Acks 1, Pentland United 2; Halkirk 2, Wick Thistle 1; Wick Rovers 4, Thurso Pentland 1; Swifts 3, Acks 2; Thurso Pentland 0, John O'Groats 2; Wick Thistle 1, Wick Rovers 9.
Division Two: Keiss 10, Ashes 2; Top Joe's 1, Keiss 8; Top Joe's 1, Lybster 8.
* Seven teams took part in the seven-a-side over-35 charity tournament in Thurso on Saturday for the Roddy Gray Memorial Cup. The hosts, Thurso Comm, and an Inverness side skippered by Jimmy Gray ended up the top two in the round-robin competition. A competitive series of games saw Halkirk and last year's winners, Kirkwall Thorfinn, just edged out.
In the final, Comm took the lead before Inverness levelled to set up a penalty-kick decider. All 14 players were required, with the final action seeing keeper Jimmy Gray – who had pulled off several great stops – shooting wide and his counterpart Calum Angus converting.