Appearances & Goals To Date

Andy Reid (GK)		26 apps	-
Jamie Michie		16 apps	-
Johnny Crawford		24 apps	2 goals
Calum Dingwall		57 apps	4 goals
Stuart Smith		94 apps	7 goals
Jamie Masson		15 apps	1 goal
Graeme Rodger		27 apps	9 goals
Paul Lawson		25 apps	6 goals
Scott Barbour		27 apps	12 goals
Neil Gauld		23 apps	11 goals
Garry Wood		26 apps	14 goals
Callum Bagshaw (sub)		65 apps	9 goals
Max Berton (sub)		8 apps	-
Cammy Keith (sub)		92 apps	67 goals
Cammy Keith (sub)		92 apps	67 goals

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Milestones

There’s little doubt that Formartine were expected to win this comfortably and they did. That, however, is nothing like the main story here. It lies not in the fact of victory but in the manner by which it was achieved. United have been struggling with injuries to key players – to some extent they still are (McVitie , McKeown and Munro remain on the injury list) but with just enough light visible at the end of the tunnel for striker and target man Garry Wood to resume his place up top. instead of at the heart of the back four, much of their early season fire- power was restored. To make things even better, this prompted a return to his predatory best for strike partner, Neil Gauld. Golden Gauldy gave a glitzy, glittering, gloriously goal -grabbing display that yielded 4 beauties in little more than half an hour. Formartine struck both early and late and managed to squeeze in half a dozen other top drawer goals in between in a performance where everyone, with the possible exception of the effectively untested Reid in goal, contributed fully to produce a display of power pace and precision made even more remarkable for the fact that it was played on a lumpy pitch that looked like it had failed to recover from a recent cattle stampede.
Funny how fate turns around in football: last week, just a minute into the game, Gary WOOD, at centre back, experienced a quirky break of the ball that rebounded out of his control for an own goal. A minute into this game, at centre forward, a rebound from his right hand brought the ball nicely to foot before he rifled it into the net. Rothes protested for hand ball but the contact, despite advantage accruing, had been ball to hand and for that or some other reason, the goal stood.
Formartine pressure continued with balls being played up to and on by Wood with Gauld yapping at the heels of defenders. The quality of supply, by Lawson and Rodger in particular, to the forwards ensured that Rothes were hermetically sealed into their own final third. With heavy underfoot conditions and Rothes almost constantly on the back foot, the lightweight and lightning fast Gauld was sure to prosper. His opening goal was a straightforward enough one. A corner driven over from the left by Lawson flummoxed defenders and GAULD was quickest to react by driving it lowish and hard into the net. He was in the mood and it took only another four minutes of United pressure to put the game effectively beyond any expectation of retrieval by the home side. The starting point was a cross from deep left by Barbour and after a period of hectic confusion - a stramash - the ball reached the head of the wee striker who, beyond the back stick and only a few yards in from the goal line headed it sublimely high and loopy over the keeper and various others and into the far corner of the net.
Formartine pressure was utterly relentless and while Rothes attacks were as rare as unicorn sightings, they managed several passages of passing the ball about well and making Formartine work for their possession. Donaldson and Henderson, supported by Horsburgh were the architects of this and you could see in flashes that there is the nucleus of a successful side in there. You couldn’t fault their work rate while being three goal adrift and finding little prospect of getting the ball past a visiting back four where with Crawford back , no quarter was given they still chased and harried with a will. One flurry through the inside left channel by Davidson and a hopeful 30 yard effort by Henderson was about the strength of what the visitors allowed them.
GAULD completed his hat trick 8 minutes before the interval; this time dragging the ball right to left just inside the 18 yard line before turning suddenly and viciously to drive a searing, curling shot well beyond the reach of keeper Mackie. Rothes plugged away and did enough to hold the deficit to four at the interval. Their spirit and work rate compensated for other deficits but Formartine threatened time and again and Lawson, (who orchestrated the lot most of the time), Masson, Wood, Gauld and Barbour all had decent efforts that either went close or were diverted by last minute blocks.
Formartine clearly under instructions not to ease up the throttle foot, started the second half at a blistering pace. A cheeky attempt at a route one effort with an over the top ball through the middle by Lawson for Wood almost came off but the ball was an inch or two ahead of the controllable reach of the big striker and although he got something on to it, it just wasn’t enough to give him the power and direction needed and the ball was poked past the keeper’s left upright. It didn’t really matter because GAULD got his 4th a minute later. A long diagonal ball by Lawson out on the right was delivered precisely to the base of the far post where the predator was onto it in a trice to apply the touch needed to divert the ball into the net.
Gauld now had four but big Garry WOOD was hungry for more and after going close again with decent strikes either side of target produced a finish of awesome power and pace in the 56th minute. The ball had been worked down the right flank and clipped inwards to near the right hand corner of the box – or a step or two further in - when at full pace he took it on the half volley and crashed it past the transfixed keeper with a delivery as forceful as you’ll see in many a long day. An utter screamer of a shot.
Still Rothes plugged away to limit the damage and after a rather towsy encounter to the left of the centre circle between Lawson and Ewen a wee melee erupted – handbags really but, Crawford had seen or experienced something that made him want to go in with his fists raised. Keeper Reid did the wise thing and hauled him to safety before disciplinary action was needed. CRAWFORD wised up quickly and got his revenge in the way that counts best by promptly sticking one in the back of the opposition net. Within a minute or so of the end of hostilities, he got a rare goal. United had forced corners at either side and just as it looked like Rothes had cleared their lines from the second one, the ball spilled out to the left of the box and was promptly cracked back in. Alert to the possibilities, Crawford took his revenge by forcing himself between defenders to let his head [and the brain within] do what his fists had recently failed to and, stooping, headed the ball firmly home.
7 goals in 64 minutes is some haul but Rothes’ misery was not yet complete. A heavy pitch produces heavy legs and Formartine brought on, in quick succession: Bagshaw for Lawson, Berton for Rodger and Cammy Keith for Gauld all to stretch the tired legs of the home side. It took until the 86th minute after another lengthy period of blitzkrieg on the Rothes goalmouth for the final nail to be hammered into their coffin. Almost predictably it was Cammy KEITH who did so. A fast, mazy run by Berton took him almost to the left corner flag before jinking in along the goal line, he whipped the ball hard and rising to just beyond the back post where Cammy rose perfectly to head it smartly and powerfully home past the line of the advancing keeper.
This was a Formartine display of relentless pressure that showed no mercy to their opponents who had run Nairn very close the week before. As injuries abate, the team is developing into to one that plays and sustains fast, accurate and aggressively attacking football to a remarkable standard.

Match report by Colin Keenan