Appearances & Goals To Date

Andy Reid (GK)		33 apps	-
Jamie Michie		19 apps	-
Calum Dingwall		64 apps	4 goals
Stuart Smith		102 apps	10 goals
Stuart Anderson		84 apps	20 goals
Hamish Munro		63 apps	3 goals
Callum Bagshaw		72 apps	9 goals
Graeme Rodger		35 apps	11 goals
Scott Barbour		34 apps	15 goals
Neil Gauld		31 apps	14 goals
Garry Wood		34 apps	25 goals
Max Berton (sub)		10 apps	-
Jamie Masson (sub)		23 apps	2 goals
Cammy Keith (sub)		98 apps	70 goals

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Milestones

The score line is a fair reflection of the overall difference in performance between these two teams but at half time it would have taken a rather manic amount of optimism to have suggested the final score. Formartine were not slow to start and despite pressuring Vale fairly persistently from the off and managing a distinct advantage in terms of territorial advantage and possession, still contrived to reach the interval a goal behind. Of course it was against the run of play but with the Banffers playing a canny counterpunching game, and apparently happy enough to soak up pressure for minutes on end it was beginning to look like United could run out of ideas about how to unpick the tight defensive knot the visitors created.

A radically restructured Formartine rearguard of Michie, Dingwall, Smith and Munro was as much a result of consequences (all three centre backs, Henry, Crawford and McKeown as well as defender McVitie are injured) as choice but, in the end performed well with Smith bagging two goals and Munro another. Not a bad attacking haul for a so called make-shift defence!

From the kick off, a repeated interchange of passes between Michie and Gauld yielded an unrewarded corner on the right. Pressure was maintained after this and the ball was contained almost entirely in Vale territory. Their defence, well organised by Fraser, consisted of a flat (ish) back four (whether this was their intention or whether Formartine pressure forced that upon them is hard to determine) but not only did they have this but another bank of four slotted in just ahead of them and for most of the first half this arrangement did enough to smother United’s attack. United’s practice of trying to play everything up to Wood did little to create opportunity as the level of congestion was such that the big striker had little space in which to manoeuvre himself let alone the ball. He battled away and despite the closest of attention he still got in a thundering shot from thirty yards out in the inside left channel. It had Pennet beaten all ends up but the ball crashed off the underside of the bar, hit the goal line and was somehow hacked away.

By the mid point of the half, Vale, still cautious, ventured a bit more into United territory and to the surprise of all present managed to nick a goal in the 35th minute. A foray down the left yielded a free kick on the left which was cleared into space about 30 yards out where Soutar picked up the ball worked his way into the box to clip it over to FRASER who was still up there from the free to head home. Formartine tried to pull one back before the break but were again frustrated by the doughty visiting defence.

The second half was an entirely different affair. United dropped Barbour in favour of Masson at the interval and pushed Gauld a bit wider to let the bigger sub into a more central position beside Wood. The switch hit pay dirt straight away. A free twenty yards out and a few yards in from the left touch line was taken by Masson who cunningly stubbed the ball hard and low right into the hot spot around the back post. MUNRO muscled his way through the serried rank of defenders and banged the ball home from about 8 yards out to level.

Two minutes later a fizzing drive from Roger, 30 yards out went inches wide of the keeper’s right up right and suddenly the composed defence in depth of Vale looked far more vulnerable as Formartine screwed up the temperature. Vale had little sight or smell of the home box as Formartine dominated proceedings. It took them until the 61st minute to get ahead. Again Masson was involved: this time chipping the ball left footed from right to left to the far post where GAULD, away from his marker, nodded the ball neatly home. Unlike the first half where United had relied overly on Wood, they were now spreading the ball wider and as a result, stretching the visiting defence and in the heavy underfoot conditions they were beginning to creak. Krobot, having been booked for persistent fouling in the 75th minute was booked again for remarks made to the ref and dismissed in the 79th. The free kick for the foul the full back had so vigorously disputed produced real retribution when Masson clipped it left to right over to the back post, where SMITH was presciently placed to bang the ball into the net from close range to form the first part of a remarkable 2 minute double. These are a rare enough in established strikers but for a left back deputising in central defence?!

Vale were now in some sort of disarray and United tormenting them with some slick pass and move stuff were calling the shots. After a stinging Anderson drive from 25 yards out and a bit right of centre was parried by Pennet, there was SMITH again to pick up the rebound and clip it nonchalantly past the keeper to complete both his double and Formartine’s scoring for the night.

For the remaining ten minutes Formartine kept the ball away from Vale, knocking it around with enough assurance to run down the clock. Given the enforced changes to personnel and positions, this was a highly competent and impressively professional performance in difficult circumstances by United. Those who stepped up to the plate to cover for missing or injured team mates by playing out of position did so convincingly and Smith, moved over from full back to centre back and able to score a brace to boot, and Munro, returning from long term injury, were both outstanding.

Match report by Colin Keenan

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