Appearances & Goals To Date

Kevin Main (GK)		31 apps	-
Jevan Anderson		58 apps	3 goals
Craig McKeown		100 apps	19 goals
Stuart Smith		220 apps	20 goals
Joe MacPherson		14 apps	-
Andrew Greig		44 apps	19 goals
Graeme Rodger		164 apps	57 goals
Aaron Norris		14 apps	1 goal
Kieran Lawrence		41 apps	2 goals
Archie MacPhee		68 apps	45 goals
Garry Wood		123 apps	63 goals
Conor Gethins (sub)		91 apps	38 goals
Liam Burnett (sub)		63 apps	7 goals

Starting Lineup

Matchday Squad

First Team Debuts

Milestones

If there is one important thing Formartine have learned in their years in the Highland League is that it's always a battle at Buckie. This was the semi final of the Morrison Motors Aberdeenshire Shield at Victoria Park on a cold', frosty night in a season when Buckie, League Champions in 2016/17 had to resign themselves to a season of relative underachievement. The lure of a possible cup final was clearly a huge attraction to them and there was no question that they were up for this one. Although perhaps they had a bit less riding on it, so too were United. A tough, physical battle ensued. Midfields and defences dominated and United were made to battle every inch of the way to their victory achieved on the back of a first half penalty by Andrew Greig following a handball by MacKinnon.

Both sides were near to full strength until during the warm up United right back Crawford picked up an injury and had to be replaced by young Joe MacPherson. Craig McKeown returned and made his first start in several weeks at the heart of defence, assuming also the captain's armband in the absence of the suspended Stuart Anderson.

It was clear from the outset that this was going to be a bruising encounter and United's first foray into Buckie territory was peremptorily halted when MacKinnon barged Greig off the ball about thirty yards out. The wingers next attempt to open up the home defence a couple of minutes later had a similar outcome when Allen MacKenzie did much the same as MacKinnon had. It looked like Buckie had little compunction about conceding fouls as long as they were in relatively “safe” areas. They were astute enough to share out the responsibility of illegality by taking turns in conceding them.

However, Buckie were slick enough on the ball to be able to push United back for wee spells of a minute or two at a time and mount some pressure around the edges of their penalty area. However McKeown was doing a good job of organising the back four and any attempts on goal were confined to being delivered from outside the box. Shots from MacKinnon and McKenna were more speculative than threatening and went well over the top.

Gary Wood was proving a real handful up top and dragged defenders to places they'd rather not go and made space for in turn, Rodger, Norris and MacPhee to have off-target half chances over the first fifteen minutes.

In the 17th minute Robertson got away from MacPherson in the inside left channel with just enough space to deliver a curling 20 yard cross cum shot that had keeper Main at full stretch to tip over the top. Before he could reach earth he was absolutely clattered against the post by MacKinnon and required a protracted period of treatment to his left leg before resuming his duties.

It was still fairly even Buckie had perhaps one or two more sustained spells of pressure but did little to stretch the United defence whereas the visitors, breaking forward looked perhaps a shade more dangerous. Around the 23rd minute United managed their first spell of really sustained pressure and forced three corners in almost immediate succession. The first from the right caused enough havoc in the home goalmouth to see United mount three close range shots that rebounded off defenders' legs. The last of these, by Greig yielded another corner on the left which he took himself. It was scrambled away from the back post area just before Wood and Rodger could pounce on it producing a repeat. This time Greig hit it higher and wider and McKeown, in the centre of the box, crashed a fierce downward header that was blatantly, if unnecessarily, handled by MacKinnon. GREIG took the inevitable spot kick himself and as keeper Herbert dived to his right ”Chubbs” nonchalantly slid the ball under his body to the centre of the goal.

The remaining twenty minutes of the first half were hard fought, mostly in midfield but with neither side showing much likelihood of altering the scoreline. Buckie's propensity for illegal or over vigorous challenges began to work against them. After Sam Morrison cynically hacked down Greig, who had broken free down the inside left route, and was perhaps fortunate not to have been red carded. Ref Macfarlane began to issue cards for persistent fouling. With MacKinnon and Robertson finding themselves in last chance saloon, the game became a little less towsy. And for the first half of the second period, it took on a predominantly box to box aspect. Defences were largely on top and goal attempts were generally from distance. MacPhee had rather spectacular effort from 35 or more yards out on the right that came gie near to finding the net at the junction of Herbert's right upright and crossbar before slipping past on the wrong side.

With McKeown in command, the United back four kept their shape, and discipline remarkably well and although Buckie, chasing the game over the last 15 minutes asked a few questions, keeper Main was never taken beyond his comfort zone. He held a MacKinnon header with almost contemptuous ease and had everything covered when sub Murray sneaked in a snapshot through a ruck of players, and he went down smartly to his right to smother the shot.

By the end for all that they huffed and puffed, Buckie looked like they were running out of ideas. United matched them well in midfield with Kieran Lawrence like a vicious wee terrier chasing down anyone with the temerity to try to take the ball into the United danger area and with the danger of the potentially lethal Gethins on as a sub for Jevan Anderson to allow Wood to bring his experience to central defence for the last 15 or so, the more Buckie tried the more vulnerable they looked.

It's never easy to get a result at Buckie, but United ground out a win against a well organised, highly determined side that maintained a strong physical presence across the pitch, and they never looked to be in serious doubt of not making the final against Banks o’Dee who won through their game against Fraserburgh.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie