Post by Brian Mackay on May 12, 2007 8:20:26 GMT
Inrig and Budge put champions back on top
By Iain Grant - iain-grant@ukf.net
Published: 11 May, 2007
PENTLAND United have regained pole position in the County League first division. They bounced back from their defeat in Castletown to record a comfortable 4-0 victory at home to Halkirk on Monday.
Two goals by Willie Inrig, one from the penalty spot, and a Grant Budge double wrapped up the points for the defending champions.
Swifts had temporarily enjoyed life at the top after getting the better of Wick Rovers in an intriguing six-goal tussle at the Dammies.
The home side trailed 2-1 near the interval, with their camp sensing that a second successive defeat to Wick opponents could derail their title ambitions. Their comeback was signalled by a superb, first-time 30-yard strike from Willie Steven after Rovers' keeper Alan Mowat had fisted out a cross.
The visitors looked likely to recapture the lead in the third quarter when both John Harper and Colin Sinclair hit the woodwork and Stevie Reid was foiled by a brave block from Swifts' Lee Allan.
Swifts finished strongly and went ahead 10 minutes from time when Mark Nichol headed in Chris Foy's corner. Steven struck again with another cracking drive to seal a 4-2 victory.
Rovers had drawn first blood through Harper, with Reid restoring the lead after Foy had levelled.
Sanders Harper's men later got back on the winning track on home soil, condemning John O'Groats to their third single-goal defeat of the campaign.
Sinclair hit a post with Rovers' first attack before John Harper cashed in on a defensive mix-up to fire them into a fourth-minute lead.
The visitors were back level on 13 minutes when Martin Sinclair's shot was spilled by young keeper Stevie Kelly and Calum Campbell netted the rebound.
Reid grabbed what proved the winner 11 minutes from the turnaround with an unstoppable 25-yarder.
In a scrappy second half, Reid passed up a decent chance from a tight angle to make the points safe for Rovers. That would have been vital had John O'Groats' Derek Munro been able to find the target with a late opportunity which he sent just over.
Castletown, the first division's only unbeaten side, bolstered their challenge with a 2-1 away victory against Wick Thistle. The scoreline is deceptive as the visitors were well ahead and would have posted a handsome win but for a series of missed chances and fine stops by Thistle's keeper Graeme Williamson.
A goalless first period ended with 18-year-old Scott Manson, of Castletown, being carried off and taken to hospital following a clumsy challenge by Andrew Henderson. Soft-tissue damage left Manson hobbling home on crutches and facing a spell on the sidelines.
His replacement, Pher Nicolson, provided an immediate impact after the turnaround, receiving a pass and netting with what was his second touch. Graham MacDonald added a second before a Terry Cannop header late on reduced the leeway.
John O'Groats and Acks shared the points in a tetchy contest on the village park on Wednesday.
In a lacklustre first half, defender David Green came closest to opening the scoring with his foray forward ending with him shooting narrowly over.
It was the Thurso side who took the lead when Robert Mackay ended a move with an unerring finish low past John O'Groats' keeper Shaun Henderson.
Shot-shy John O'Groats had to wait until the 65th minute for their next threat and it came from another defender, with Stuart Sinclair (the younger) seeing his long-range free kick come back off the crossbar.
The home support had to wait until 10 minutes from time for the equaliser. Stuart Sinclair (the younger) made space for himself before unleashing a 25-yard thunderbolt which whizzed past Brian Mackay. The closing minutes witnessed several unsavoury off-the-ball incidents which went unseen by the officials.
Wick Groats lead the way in the second division after hammering Francis Street Club 7-0 on Wednesday.
Andy Harper's team approached the derby in fine fettle after rattling off three wins in their first three outings. But when Craig Ross gave Groats a second-minute lead it became clear that FSC were going to be in for a tough night.
A smart turn and spanking shot from Kyle Ross soon made it 2-0, and a glorious 18-yard volley by Gregg Shearer and an own goal kept the scoreboard ticking along. Kyle Ross got a second after the break, then Kevin Miller netted with a spectacular header before Derek Shearer completed the scoring.
Keiss had earlier made short work of claiming all three points at home to Top Joe's. Graham MacNab weighed in with a hat-trick in their 4-0 victory which was marred by three red cards.
The teenager grabbed his first after seven minutes when he finished off a length-of-the-park move. Twin brother Grant doubled the advantage, following up Gordon Steven's shot which had come back off the crossbar.
TJ's cause was further damaged when Steven Johns was sent off for barging an opponent. They went three down when Graham converted from the penalty spot after Gavin Cormack had been felled in the box.
Referee Graham Johns then had no option but to show red to both TJ's Michael Wilson and James Cormack, of Keiss, after the pair squared up to each other.
After Grant MacNab had hit the bar, brother Graham completed the scoring with a well-placed effort from the edge of the box.
Keiss went on to rack up a 5-0 win over Ashes at Ormlie.
Peter Niwa got them off to a flying start with a cracking strike from the edge of the box to record his first of the season. Graham MacNab then weighed in with a double – a crafty chip and then a penalty after Colin MacKenzie had been fouled in the box. With Ashes' defence at sixes and sevens, Grant MacNab and Niwa added further goals to put the visitors in cruise mode by the interval.
Lybster broke their goal famine in style when they rattled in four without reply at home to Top Joe's.
Danny Gunn put them ahead after nine minutes after he profited from Stefan Sutherland's assist. The visitors hit a post before the villagers took control, with Sutherland and Alan Larnach going close before Gareth Miller made it 2-0 two minutes from the break with a blistering volley.
Danny Gunn struck again early in the second half with a shot on the turn after good work by Sutherland, who later sent in Bobby Gunn to complete the scoring. Lybster's win was soured by Larnach's late sending-off for a second bookable offence.
* Fixtures – Saturday: MacLeod IFA Highland Cup, first round, north Dornoch Firth zone (3.00 unless otherwise stated): Castletown v Embo; Francis Street Club v Wick Rovers (Lower Bignold, 12.00); Kinlochbervie v Durness; Keiss v John O'Groats; Lochbroom v Brora Wanderers; Pentland United v Halkirk; Thurso Pentland v Golspie Stafford; Thurso Swifts v Thurso Acks; Tongue United v Lybster; Top Joe's v Ashes; Wick Groats v Lochinver (Lower Bignold); Wick Thistle v Dornoch City (Harmsworth Park).
Monday (7.15) – County League, Division Two: Castletown v Rovers; Halkirk v Swifts; John O'Groats v Pentland United; Thurso Pentland v Thistle.
Tuesday (7.15) – County League, Division Two: Ashes v Lybster; Keiss v FSC.
Wednesday (7.15) – Division Two: Wick Groats v Top Joe's. Thursday (7.15) – Division One: Pentland United v Swifts.
* Results – County League, Division One: John O'Groats 1, Acks 1; Pentland United 4, Halkirk 0; Wick Rovers 2, John O'Groats 1; Swifts 4, Wick Rovers 2; Wick Thistle 1, Castletown 2.
Division Two: Ashes 0, Keiss 5; Keiss 4, Top Joe's 0; Lybster 4, Top Joe's 0; Wick Groats 7, FSC 0.
By Iain Grant - iain-grant@ukf.net
Published: 11 May, 2007
PENTLAND United have regained pole position in the County League first division. They bounced back from their defeat in Castletown to record a comfortable 4-0 victory at home to Halkirk on Monday.
Two goals by Willie Inrig, one from the penalty spot, and a Grant Budge double wrapped up the points for the defending champions.
Swifts had temporarily enjoyed life at the top after getting the better of Wick Rovers in an intriguing six-goal tussle at the Dammies.
The home side trailed 2-1 near the interval, with their camp sensing that a second successive defeat to Wick opponents could derail their title ambitions. Their comeback was signalled by a superb, first-time 30-yard strike from Willie Steven after Rovers' keeper Alan Mowat had fisted out a cross.
The visitors looked likely to recapture the lead in the third quarter when both John Harper and Colin Sinclair hit the woodwork and Stevie Reid was foiled by a brave block from Swifts' Lee Allan.
Swifts finished strongly and went ahead 10 minutes from time when Mark Nichol headed in Chris Foy's corner. Steven struck again with another cracking drive to seal a 4-2 victory.
Rovers had drawn first blood through Harper, with Reid restoring the lead after Foy had levelled.
Sanders Harper's men later got back on the winning track on home soil, condemning John O'Groats to their third single-goal defeat of the campaign.
Sinclair hit a post with Rovers' first attack before John Harper cashed in on a defensive mix-up to fire them into a fourth-minute lead.
The visitors were back level on 13 minutes when Martin Sinclair's shot was spilled by young keeper Stevie Kelly and Calum Campbell netted the rebound.
Reid grabbed what proved the winner 11 minutes from the turnaround with an unstoppable 25-yarder.
In a scrappy second half, Reid passed up a decent chance from a tight angle to make the points safe for Rovers. That would have been vital had John O'Groats' Derek Munro been able to find the target with a late opportunity which he sent just over.
Castletown, the first division's only unbeaten side, bolstered their challenge with a 2-1 away victory against Wick Thistle. The scoreline is deceptive as the visitors were well ahead and would have posted a handsome win but for a series of missed chances and fine stops by Thistle's keeper Graeme Williamson.
A goalless first period ended with 18-year-old Scott Manson, of Castletown, being carried off and taken to hospital following a clumsy challenge by Andrew Henderson. Soft-tissue damage left Manson hobbling home on crutches and facing a spell on the sidelines.
His replacement, Pher Nicolson, provided an immediate impact after the turnaround, receiving a pass and netting with what was his second touch. Graham MacDonald added a second before a Terry Cannop header late on reduced the leeway.
John O'Groats and Acks shared the points in a tetchy contest on the village park on Wednesday.
In a lacklustre first half, defender David Green came closest to opening the scoring with his foray forward ending with him shooting narrowly over.
It was the Thurso side who took the lead when Robert Mackay ended a move with an unerring finish low past John O'Groats' keeper Shaun Henderson.
Shot-shy John O'Groats had to wait until the 65th minute for their next threat and it came from another defender, with Stuart Sinclair (the younger) seeing his long-range free kick come back off the crossbar.
The home support had to wait until 10 minutes from time for the equaliser. Stuart Sinclair (the younger) made space for himself before unleashing a 25-yard thunderbolt which whizzed past Brian Mackay. The closing minutes witnessed several unsavoury off-the-ball incidents which went unseen by the officials.
Wick Groats lead the way in the second division after hammering Francis Street Club 7-0 on Wednesday.
Andy Harper's team approached the derby in fine fettle after rattling off three wins in their first three outings. But when Craig Ross gave Groats a second-minute lead it became clear that FSC were going to be in for a tough night.
A smart turn and spanking shot from Kyle Ross soon made it 2-0, and a glorious 18-yard volley by Gregg Shearer and an own goal kept the scoreboard ticking along. Kyle Ross got a second after the break, then Kevin Miller netted with a spectacular header before Derek Shearer completed the scoring.
Keiss had earlier made short work of claiming all three points at home to Top Joe's. Graham MacNab weighed in with a hat-trick in their 4-0 victory which was marred by three red cards.
The teenager grabbed his first after seven minutes when he finished off a length-of-the-park move. Twin brother Grant doubled the advantage, following up Gordon Steven's shot which had come back off the crossbar.
TJ's cause was further damaged when Steven Johns was sent off for barging an opponent. They went three down when Graham converted from the penalty spot after Gavin Cormack had been felled in the box.
Referee Graham Johns then had no option but to show red to both TJ's Michael Wilson and James Cormack, of Keiss, after the pair squared up to each other.
After Grant MacNab had hit the bar, brother Graham completed the scoring with a well-placed effort from the edge of the box.
Keiss went on to rack up a 5-0 win over Ashes at Ormlie.
Peter Niwa got them off to a flying start with a cracking strike from the edge of the box to record his first of the season. Graham MacNab then weighed in with a double – a crafty chip and then a penalty after Colin MacKenzie had been fouled in the box. With Ashes' defence at sixes and sevens, Grant MacNab and Niwa added further goals to put the visitors in cruise mode by the interval.
Lybster broke their goal famine in style when they rattled in four without reply at home to Top Joe's.
Danny Gunn put them ahead after nine minutes after he profited from Stefan Sutherland's assist. The visitors hit a post before the villagers took control, with Sutherland and Alan Larnach going close before Gareth Miller made it 2-0 two minutes from the break with a blistering volley.
Danny Gunn struck again early in the second half with a shot on the turn after good work by Sutherland, who later sent in Bobby Gunn to complete the scoring. Lybster's win was soured by Larnach's late sending-off for a second bookable offence.
* Fixtures – Saturday: MacLeod IFA Highland Cup, first round, north Dornoch Firth zone (3.00 unless otherwise stated): Castletown v Embo; Francis Street Club v Wick Rovers (Lower Bignold, 12.00); Kinlochbervie v Durness; Keiss v John O'Groats; Lochbroom v Brora Wanderers; Pentland United v Halkirk; Thurso Pentland v Golspie Stafford; Thurso Swifts v Thurso Acks; Tongue United v Lybster; Top Joe's v Ashes; Wick Groats v Lochinver (Lower Bignold); Wick Thistle v Dornoch City (Harmsworth Park).
Monday (7.15) – County League, Division Two: Castletown v Rovers; Halkirk v Swifts; John O'Groats v Pentland United; Thurso Pentland v Thistle.
Tuesday (7.15) – County League, Division Two: Ashes v Lybster; Keiss v FSC.
Wednesday (7.15) – Division Two: Wick Groats v Top Joe's. Thursday (7.15) – Division One: Pentland United v Swifts.
* Results – County League, Division One: John O'Groats 1, Acks 1; Pentland United 4, Halkirk 0; Wick Rovers 2, John O'Groats 1; Swifts 4, Wick Rovers 2; Wick Thistle 1, Castletown 2.
Division Two: Ashes 0, Keiss 5; Keiss 4, Top Joe's 0; Lybster 4, Top Joe's 0; Wick Groats 7, FSC 0.