Fraserburgh 2 - 1 Formartine United

Aberdeenshire Shield - Semi Final
Wednesday, December 11th, 2019, 8:00 PM at Bellslea Park, Fraserburgh
Attendance: 300
Referee: Mat Northcroft
Fraserburgh v Formartine United, Dec 11th 2019, Bellslea Park, Fraserburgh
Fraserburgh Formartine United 

Goalscorers
Sean Butcher (11)
Paul Campbell (30)
Kieran Lawrence (69)

Team Managers
Mark Cowie Paul Lawson

Starting Eleven
Paul Leask
Lewis Davidson
Bryan Hay
Ryan Cowie
Grant Campbell
Ross Willox
Paul Young
William West
Paul Campbell
Sean Butcher
Scott Barbour
Kevin Main
Johnny Crawford
Darryn Kelly
Stuart Smith
Craig McKeown
Stuart Anderson
Graeme Rodger
Liam Strachan
Aaron Norris
Daniel Park
Garry Wood

Bench
Logan Watt
Andrew Hannar
Kieran Simpson
Owen Cairns
Greg Buchan
Gary Harris
Joe Barbour
Errol Watson
Michael Clark
Wayne Mackintosh
Gary McGowan
Conor Gethins
Kieran Lawrence
Scott Lisle

Substitutions
Owen Cairns for Lewis Davidson (81)
Greg Buchan for Paul Campbell (85)
Kieran Simpson for Sean Butcher (90)
Kieran Lawrence for Liam Strachan (60)
Conor Gethins for Aaron Norris (62)
Scott Lisle for Stuart Smith (83)

Bookings
None. Daniel Park

Red Cards
None. None.

Appearances & Goals To Date
Kevin Main (GK) 70 apps -
Johnny Crawford 141 apps11 goals
Darryn Kelly 12 apps1 goal
Stuart Smith 253 apps24 goals
Craig McKeown 137 apps20 goals
Stuart Anderson 227 apps34 goals
Graeme Rodger 210 apps71 goals
Liam Strachan 20 apps -
Aaron Norris 45 apps3 goals
Daniel Park 40 apps10 goals
Garry Wood 167 apps79 goals
Conor Gethins (sub) 129 apps46 goals
Scott Lisle (sub) 26 apps13 goals
Kieran Lawrence (sub) 82 apps3 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Liam Strachan (21 years 35 days)
Oldest Player:Kevin Main (37 years 272 days)
Average Player Age:30 years 15 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Liam Strachan (21 years 35 days)
Oldest Player:Kevin Main (37 years 272 days)
Average Player Age:29 years 344 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

The scoreline is a fair reflection of a hard fought semi final encounter in the Morrison Motors Aberdeenshire shield currently held by United. The pattern of the game was significantly influenced by a strong, biting wind that blew down the pitch towards the town end. With it at their backs in the first half, Broch dominated enough to keep United hemmed in to their own final third for long periods. In the face of such pressure and in the teeth of that wind, Formartine found real difficulty in clearing their lines and have totemic keeper Kevin Main to thank for an outstanding display of the custodian's craft and keeping them in the game and only two goals adrift at the interval. A string of superb saves including two, from point blank range a matter of seconds apart from Paul Campbell were the pick of many.

It would be somewhat of an exaggeration to claim that the situation was entirely reversed in the second half but wind advantage was enough to ensure United got back into the game to the extent of pulling one goal back and pressing hard enough thereafter to suggest that an equaliser at least was an attainable prospect. In the end it wasn't and United's hopes of a “good” season are fast fading as the turn of the year approaches. On this season's evidence, they are not as good a side as the Broch - having lost to them in the final of the Aberdeenshire Cup, taking one point from 6 in the league and now surrendering the Shield to them.

Former United forward Barbour was always going to be up for this one and showed early menace in chasing down a long bouncing ball from the back to get one on one with Main only for the keeper to nick the ball a milli -second before he could get his head onto it. United worked hard enough to generate a little early pressure at the Broch end but never got as far as stretching Leask. The Broch pressure was ramping up and United were forced onto the back foot within the first 10 minutes - a position that seldom varied until the interval. In the 11th minute, Campbell got on the end of ball chipped in left to right by West but screwed his shot from about 6 yards out wide of the left post. The pressure continued almost unrelieved until in the 14th minute BUTCHER found some space close in to take a deflected Young cross on the half volley and thump the ball high into the net from less than ten yards out. The goal had been coming but as the wind and now the momentum were with the home side the best United could do was to hold on rather grimly.

Broch's second came fifteen minutes later. Butcher and Young had combined down the right flank before the former slung a loopy cross into the area between the 6 yard box and penalty spot. The aerial duel for it between Crawford and Paul CAMPBELL was won by the latter as he powered his header past Main.

Fraserburgh continued to press and only dogged defending and outstanding goalkeeping prevented the crucial third that would have put the game irretrievably beyond United's reach.

However, the second half saw an energised United battling back into contention. They never developed quite the same level of sustained pressure that their opponents had in the first half, it was more episodic than that and Fraserburgh managed a fair few counters as well the best of which saw Main at full stretch to take a Campbell drive at the base of his right upright. However overall United had the upper hand at this point and shortly after bringing on Lawrence for Strachan and Gethins for Norris they halved the deficit with stunning thirty yard low drive from LAWRENCE that screamed into the left hand corner of the net in the 63rd minute.

The impetus was now with United and they were working the Broch hard, Park, Wood and Gethins all went close with efforts from in or close to the box but the black and whites, defending in depth, held out and although looking rather ragged over the last ten minutes did just enough to deny United the opportunity of a penalty shoot out, which with keeper Main in such a rich vein of form they could have faced with some degree of confidence. It was not to be.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie