Wick Academy 1 - 2 Formartine United

League - HFL
Saturday, December 6th, 2014, 3:00 PM at Harmsworth Park, Wick
Attendance: 150
Referee: Graham Beaton
Wick Academy v Formartine United, Dec 6th 2014, Harmsworth Park, Wick
Wick Academy Formartine United 

Goalscorers
Sam MacKay (27) Callum Bagshaw (61)
Marek Madle (75)

Team Managers
Gordon Connelly Steve Paterson

Starting Eleven
Sean McCarthy
Gary Manson
Ross Allan
Alan Farquhar
James Pickles
Grant Campbell
Sam MacKay
Richard MacAdie
Davie Allan
Gary Weir
Steven Harrison
Shaun Barney
Graham Hay
Stephen Jeffrey
Calum Dingwall
Craig Duguid
Stuart Smith
Stuart Anderson
Callum Bagshaw
Hamish Munro
Marek Madle
Paul Napier

Bench
Steven Cunningham
Ryan Campbell
Conor Cormack
Alan Hughes
Lukasz Geruzel
Errol Watson
Gary Clark
Kieran Lawrence
Neil McVitie

Substitutions
Lukasz Geruzel for Gary Weir (68)
Stevie Cunningham for Richard MacAdie (84)
Neil McVitie for Craig Duguid (46)

Bookings
Gary Weir (33)
Grant Campbell (72)
Ross Allan (78)
Shaun Barney
Marek Madle

Red Cards
None. None.

Appearances & Goals To Date
Shaun Barney (GK) 2 apps -
Graham Hay 25 apps4 goals
Stephen Jeffrey 36 apps1 goal
Calum Dingwall 27 apps2 goals
Craig Duguid 19 apps1 goal
Stuart Smith 53 apps1 goal
Stuart Anderson 38 apps7 goals
Callum Bagshaw 46 apps7 goals
Hamish Munro 49 apps2 goals
Marek Madle 21 apps11 goals
Paul Napier 41 apps4 goals
Neil McVitie (sub) 45 apps9 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Calum Dingwall (21 years 297 days)
Oldest Player:Paul Napier (2016 years 130 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 145 days
Domestic Players:9 (81.82 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Kieran Lawrence (18 years 91 days)
Oldest Player:Graham Hay (2016 years 130 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 68 days
Domestic Players:13 (86.67 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

A win at Wick is a rare and precious thing and the long journey back home from the wild north coast over the Berriedale Braes and Kessock Bridge seems to take only half the time when there’s three points in the bag. This performance by Formartine, looking far from their slickest but battling tooth and nail to get the points was a hugely significant achievement and given the limitations on their squad, against almost all expectations. With strikers Cammy Keith (bereavement) and Stewart McKay (hernia) unavailable manager Paterson’s selection options were restricted. However in this new post McKeown era, United with a refreshing commitment and enthusiasm to the cause that underpinned an excellent team performance, produced a result that would have upset a few bookies to boot.

Starting downhill in a strict 4-4-2 formation the two banks of four they sought to defend as high up the park as a very fast and tricky Wick side would allow them, Formartine opened brightly with probes down each flank. The first, on the left, saw Duguid managing to get the ball into the box with a low dipping cross that flashed past the far post before either Madle or Dingwall (the striking pair) could reach it. On the other side Anderson and Napier exchanged passes before playing in Bagshaw before he was crowded out by a flurry of home defenders. Wick are neat and precise in all that they do and it is all done at a blistering pace. Theirs is a squad of predominantly local lads who have grown up together and playing with each other for years, know each others’ games inside out. Such is their movement that you will never look good playing against them – they are just too slippery to pin down so you need to use a bit of height and weight to counter that.

Marek Madle was just the lad for that – he has the pace to match their defenders, a bit of height and excellent upper body strength. From the 4th minute on, Farquhar, Allan and Pickles realised that he was a hot handful. A break down the inside right channel where he brushed aside a couple of challenges before whipping the ball low across the goal face showed intent and he burst through the middle to get off an angled drive that keeper McCarthy did well to divert with an outstretched right leg. Bagshaw too was causing problems with his ability to run directly at opponents with the ball.

Neither side could be said to be in control over the first 15 minutes as Formartine pressure was equalised: Mackay , MaAdie and Allan working the United rearguard hard. They had the pace to trouble Smith Munro, Hay and Bagshaw and Weir in the middle had a nigglier more physical approach. Between them they broke into the danger area a couple of times before being denied by smart damage limitation tackles by Hay and Smith. A Weir move set up Mackay for a cross from the right. As loan keeper Barney rose to punch the ball clear he seemed to be impeded by the same Weir and failed to connect but the ball was ultimately booted clear by Hay.

In the 16th minute Formartine got the confidence boost of getting their noses in front following a break down the left. Munro floated a ball into the path of the speedy Duguid who kept wide before whipping the ball low into the box. Manson tried to smuggle it away before it was intercepted by Anderson who threaded it into BAGSHAW virtually on the penalty spot, who clipped the ball very neatly beyond the reach of McArthy’s right hand.
Wick were out to make quick amends for the reverse and managed to make and sustain enough pressure on United to have them pinned back into their own territory for fair periods. However Formartine were really working hard for each other and pulling the front bank of four into and alongside the back four they managed to keep the Scorries more or less contained in the area between half way and the penalty box. This was not the prettiest but the crowding tactic limited the mobility of the nippy wee Wickers. It worked up to a point but they were still nippy enough to nick a goal in the 27th minute. After a wave of Wick attack had been cleared off back to the half way area a Farquhar over the top ball was hit into space beyond Sam Mackay who had drifted just far enough off Jeffrey, his marker, to initiate a foot race to the ball. There was only going to be one winner of that and as sure as God made little apples it wasn’t going to be Jaffa. MACKAY drew the keeper and just as he was going down to block, slid the ball cheekily between his legs and into the net to equalise.

This fairly swift equaliser did not augur well for the visitors who have been seen to crumble in similar circumstances previously. This time they did not. Initially Wick tried and tried to force home the advantage but Formartine dug deep, kept shape and discipline and held on. Wick for all that they maintained a high level of possession and shuffled the ball about very well indeed, were denied penetration by a doughty and hard -working United side.

After ten more minutes of Wick pressure, Formartine began to impose and over the last five minutes of the half began to ask questions of their own. Napier Anderson, Bagshaw and Madle swung the ball about enough to stretch the Scorries particularly in the area just in front of their penalty box and as the interval approached were giving at least as good as they got. A mazy run by Bagshaw got him past a couple of defenders before he was eventually crowded out in the box.

The second half began with what looked like a training ground ploy that all but yielded a goal. Madle lined up out on the left flank and was onto a ball played into that channel by Dingwall. Breaking to the corner flag and shielding the ball he stretched the home defence almost to breaking point before the ball was whipped via Bagshaw to Sub McVitie (on for Duguid) for a loopy header from beyond the back stick that was somehow scrambled into the net in the goalmouth stramash. There was something about it that ref Beaton didn’t enjoy and the keeper took a free kick. Formartine maintained a fair bit of the momentum they had regained towards the end of the previous half although with the Scorries playing down the brae, they had literally an uphill task. They are clearly fit and despite the heavy underfoot conditions maintained a fast energetic approach where they chased, harried and harassed their hosts who remained very neat and tidy in all they did.

Wick however were always dangerous and a sneaky wee snap shot by Weir brought out the best in Barney as he went quickly to full stretch to tip the ball away from his right upright. They brought on the muckle Geruzel for the bald niggly Weir and the indications were that they would attempt some route 1 stuff. Geruzel’s first two acts were fouls – one on Jeffrey and the next seconds later on Bagshaw. You could say he wanted to make his presence felt.

The game was won by the admirably persistent Marek Madle. After a couple of breaks down the channels that he finished with powerful diagonal drives that each went gie close to the far post, he produced the header that won the game for United. Formartine had been getting a degree of success in taking the ball wide before hoisting it into the goalmouth where the relatively small home defenders were stretched. In the 76th minute, on the back of sustained Formartine pressure Smith and Anderson had combined to get the ball to McVitie who managed to place his pass perfectly in range for MADLE to finish with a beautiful looping header over the keeper and into the net.

Wick roared back- they had to but Formartine, defending in depth and hitting on the break were fairly comfortable until the end. A good brave dive at the feet of forwards by Barney and some last ditch tackling by Hay, Jeffrey, Munro, and Smith were needed to protect the result but by judicious use of possession in wide areas the lead was preserved.

Match report by Colin Keenan

Programme cover / Team sheet