Appearances & Goals To Date

Andy Shearer (GK)		55 apps	-
Graham Hay		30 apps	6 goals
Stephen Jeffrey		40 apps	1 goal
Stuart Smith		58 apps	1 goal
Stuart Anderson		43 apps	7 goals
Gary Clark		37 apps	1 goal
Hamish Munro		53 apps	2 goals
Marek Madle		26 apps	15 goals
Stuart McKay		54 apps	17 goals
Paul Napier		46 apps	4 goals
Cammy Keith		58 apps	42 goals
Craig Duguid (sub)		21 apps	1 goal
Calum Dingwall (sub)		31 apps	2 goals

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Milestones

When Formartine turned over Cove a couple of weeks back, punters and pundits alike were taken by surprise. To beat Cove once was a bit of a turn up for the books, but to do so twice in a row was always going to be more of a miracle than a surprise. However the Breedon Aggregates Highland League Cup has seen its share of the miraculous over the years and at least until half time this encounter hinted in that direction. However after trailing Formartine and being just a shade off the pace over the first 45, Cove found the extra gear they needed to pull ahead and win the tie with a little to spare. For the second game in a row, Formartine if not actually caving in the second half, still capitulated enough to squander a single goal lead.

On a pitch that was heavy through the middle but firmer on the flanks, both sides started at an almost unsustainable pace. After the first five minutes or so it was clear that Formartine were slick enough at the very least to cause Cove problems: five minutes later they had settled into a crisp passing game with pace and power from Madle and Keith through the middle and were dominant. Midfield re-organisation saw the return to starting berths for McKay and Munro in place of Bagshaw and McVitie in what were straight forward man for man replacements to the vacated positions. It was probably Formartine midfield dominance in the first 45 that got Cove onto the back foot and just as probably Cove dominance in the same area in the second spell that provided the platform for their victory.

As Formartine found their feet faster than Cove they were able to sustain brief but telling periods of pressure, pinning the visitors down in their own territory for slightly longer periods than Cove could muster at the other end. That said Cove could break with genuine pace and a lot of menace. In the tenth minute. They ended a minute or two of Formartine bombardment with a lighting break by Yule and Nicol that ended with a full stretch dive to his left upright by Shearer in pursuit of low drive from the former that was deflected off a home defender’s boot. The ensuing corner was cleared with some difficulty before Formartine went back on the attack. They had Cove well hemmed in for a minute or more before a more considered approach led to a beautifully crafted and executed goal in the 18th minute. Just as it looked like that phase of attack was dwindling into impotence, Stuart Smith moved up from left back to give width and depth to the attack Madle and Anderson combined and the latter floated the ball left to right over and beyond defenders towards the back post where it was met by Cammy Keith who timed his run through the inside right channel to perfection. A good leap and a vicious downward header against the line of the advancing Kinnaird and he had the ball in the back of the net.

Formartine sustained their pressure and almost extended their lead a couple of minutes later when Madle outstripped Watson and bore down on goal. His run was matched to his left by the unmarked McKay but the big Czech either failed to notice or elected to go solo only to find his finishing effort comfortable cleared.

Again Cove were dangerous on the break and a driven diagonal ball by Smith deceived Shearer who went for it but failed to get any sort of touch on the ball as it scraped past his left upright. The pattern of Formartine dominance was sustained and while they managed to sustain a fairly high defensive line they caused Cove problems but as the first period drew towards its conclusion some ominous warning signs were beginning to appear. Over the last 7 or 8 minutes it was Cove who managed to sustain the higher defensive line and as a result their midfield was better provided for than hitherto. This resulted in their being able to pin Formartine back for longer periods. It was clear that they were looking for an equaliser before the interval but The Formartine defence with Hay and Smith in particular in excellent form the squall of Cove pressure was successfully but by no means comfortably contained.
The second half – without any personnel change was a different affair entirely. It’s not that Formartine rolled over or anything like that, it was simply a case that Cove had another gear to use and they did so. Formartine gave what they had to give which in a way was more of the same. Problem was that what was good enough to master Cove in the first half wasn’t enough to handle the Cove that came out in the second. In the battle for territorial supremacy, Cove gained the upper hand as the Formartine defence, either through choice or circumstance sat deeper and deeper. The outcome of that was that Cove midfield and forwards fed by a defence set out further forward, contained play increasingly in Formartine’s half of the pitch. Deep though they sat, the Formartine defence was resolute and for all the Cove pressure it took them sixteen minutes to claw back the equaliser. After a period of pressure where they had forced three corners in four minutes, Yule drove the ball left to right over the goal face and a melee of players. WATT and Nicol both forced their way towards it but it was the former who applied the finishing touch. Jeffrey on the goal line tried to paw the ball to safety but achieved nothing more than a yellow card for his pains.

The Cove carnivores had tasted blood and lusted for more. It didn’t take them long. They remained in overdrive and Formartine, who tried gamely enough looked increasingly vulnerable. Pressure was sustained and although Formartine couldn’t be faulted for effort or fitness they simply could not survive the sustained pressure to which they were subjected. Mistakes were creeping in here and there until Munro, who has not had much football at all this year, conceded a penalty. In a clumsy attempt at a tackle on the slippery wee Nicol he delivered what was somewhere between a poor tackle and a body check. NICOL took the penalty himself and drove the ball high into the top left hand corner of the net.

It was only one goal of a deficit and there were twenty minutes left. The only way for Formartine to save their season was to throw caution to the winds, but they simply did not have what it takes to rock Cove enough to get back in it. They had a few more spells of pressure but Cove looked confident and ordered at the back as Formartine huffed and puffed. The third goal a counter attack following a Formartine foray into Cove territory was a simple enough affair as WATT was set free by a through ball from Smith and wriggling past defenders drove the ball past Shearer to complete North Lodge misery.

This was Formartine’s last chance of silverware this season. The league looks well beyond them now as does second spot therein, so the realistic summit of their ambition would seem to be third place in the championship.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie

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