Appearances & Goals To Date

Ewen MacDonald (GK)		35 apps	-
Jamie Michie		61 apps	-
Sam Robertson		2 apps	-
Stuart Smith		161 apps	13 goals
Wayne Mackintosh		9 apps	1 goal
Stuart Anderson		141 apps	27 goals
Graeme Rodger		100 apps	28 goals
Archie MacPhee		9 apps	11 goals
Scott Barbour		94 apps	41 goals
Scott Ferries		39 apps	4 goals
Kieran Lawrence		10 apps	-
Jevan Anderson (sub)		6 apps	-
Max Berton (sub)		39 apps	3 goals
Liam Burnett (sub)		22 apps	1 goal

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Milestones

If Formartine can play as well as this without a manager, the cynics will ask if they really need one at all. The answer to that is for a different time and place entirely, but the plain fact of the matter is that this side, with some guidance from Coach Jerry O Driscoll who also picked the team, produced one of their best ever performances to trounce high flying Nairn who started the game three points above them in the league standings. Playing in what was essentially a 3-5-2 formation (as opposed to their normal 4-4-2), they took the game quickly and aggressively to the visitors straight from the kick off and within a minute or two the wisdom of the 3-5-2 set up was apparent with pressure being applied on the visitors from midfield, wide on either flank and ample ammunition by these means being delivered to a very lively front pair of MacPhee and Barbour. A couple of minutes into the game and an attack from wide right started by a long run by lanky newcomer Sam Robertson that left Main and C.MacLean in his wake before the ball was swung over left into the path of MacPhee who, twisting and turning, eventually confused defenders enough to give him the space from which to offload a quick, fierce drive that MacLeod did well to push round the post for an unrewarded corner. This was sharp and positive.

Nairn struggled to match the fire and fury of United and the home side dominated possession and territory from the outset. Nairn were unable to get much cuttance in midfield and lacked the pace that United had in wider areas and were hustled into playing off the back foot. For all that, they mounted a wee period of pressure around the 10th minute where D.MacKenzie and MacRae managed to inter pass their way towards the edge of the United area before being blocked by the terrier - like Michie. A second phase of the attack was closed down by the efforts of Smith and former Nairn favourite, Wayne Mackintosh as they jockeyed the other MacKenzie and Naismith into neutral space wide right of goal. It yielded a corner that was comfortably clutched by MacDonald and the United offensive resumed. Barbour rattled in a powerful angled drive that almost decapitated Main as he gamely headed it clear. A Smith shot from the right crashed off the base of Macleods left upright.

It took until the 30th minute for United to make the initial break through. The move began deep on the right with a foray forward by Robertson who fed Rodger. The midfielder got the better of Main and pulled Ramsey wider than was wise before flighting the ball to MacPhee who had made a run through the centre to the edge of the box. He fully occupied both MacLean and MacDonald but was still able to make the pass into the path of BARBOUR as he arrived at the left corner of the box. The forward bore in on the keeper before ripping a venomous shot past him into the left side of the net from about 12 yards out.

United were well worth their lead and it looked like both sides were aware of it as the pressure on the visitors was ratcheted up a notch or two and Nairn sat a wee bit deeper. The United rearguard and midfield advanced correspondingly and the pressure rose further. Ten more minutes of this and the game reached its turning point. A prolonged period of United pressure of pass and move stuff around the Nairn box ended with a slick move from slightly deeper. Anderson set Ferries off on a run through the inside right channel before slipping the ball on to Barbour who picked out MacPhee left- centre on the 18 yard line (and in the view of many, offside). No signal was given and the striker crashed an unstoppable left foot drive into the net. Callum MacLean, incensed at the decision to let the goal stand was red-carded for his presumably invective laden congratulations to the ref on the excellence of his judgement.

2 goals and a key defender down, County had a nightmare fifty minutes ahead of them. They held out shakily until they made two substitutions at the interval. Ross Naismith and Ramsey were replaced by Urquhart and Adam Naismith and it looked like County had damage limitation in mind. Flatulence competing with thunder came to mind in the circumstances and United playing wide, patient overlapping pass and move stuff rattled in three fairly quick goals before rather mercifully taking their collective foot of the gas pedal at 5-0.

The first of these just after Sam Robertson whose loping stride eats up yards at a phenomenal rate broke down the right and swung over a cross that just went wide of the back stick. The pressure was sustained and after some tricky stuff in the left corner by Lawrence the visiting rearguard was stretched to breaking point and the ball fed over via Rodger to BARBOUR who finished with a very precise angled drive across the goal and into the net at the back post for number three in the 54th minute.

It looked as if the floodgates were going to burst wise open when the fourth arrived a couple of minutes later RODGER drove through the inside right channel to the edge of the box, took careful aim and skelped the ball well beyond the reach of the keeper.

Nairn were right under the cosh now. Defensive midfielders Lawrence and Mackintosh had joined the throng further forward and increased the mayhem in the final third down at the village end. Mackintosh has both guile and strength and with some prior knowledge of the deficiencies of his former team mates was demonstrating the wisdom of signing for Formartine when he was tripped on the left side of the box. The penalty was given, MACPHEE spotted the ball and rattled it past MacDonald high to the right corner.

United could probably have gone on to score more but with a two game per week schedule at present, made a number of substitutions and visibly dropped the tempo. It was enough to stop a rout but not enough to blot the clean sheet. Their tempo for at least an hour had been sky high and it was clear that to continue at that level once the game was clearly won was more likely to be to the detriment of upcoming fixtures and with the current crop of injuries care in the use of scarce resources needed to be considered.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie

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