Post by Michael Gray on Jun 18, 2003 8:07:49 GMT
Another super day for football greeted Smithton to Dunnet for this HA Cup replay with the home side looking to make amends for a disappointing display the previous Saturday.
United opened brightly with Mackay clearly in the mood down the right and it was his early cross, which Morris headed just over from a good position. Cassidy had the next opportunity at the near post but his shot was too straight and goalkeeper Murray held on. The game was being played at a high tempo with the home side trying to force the issue and they took the lead after 18 mins Mackay who was bobbing about all over the park cut along the right bye line drove in a cross/cum shot that keeper Murray couldn’t deal with and the ball ricocheted off him into the net. Macdonald up front for Smithton as the week before was proving a handful for the United defence with both his aerial presence and good movement and he out jumped Boyd to knock a long freekick down but he was adjudged to have started from an offside position. Gray then claimed a long freekick and released Mackay again down the right he got to the bye line but Bower cleared his cross at the second attempt. United then doubled their advantage R Sutherland tried to flick on a long Mackay throw but it was only partially cleared back to him, he drove to the dead ball line and cut back for Cassidy to fire home. Within minutes the visitors suffered a major set back Mackenzie released Cassidy and as the striker and goalkeeper Murray challenged for the ball on the edge of the box the keeper took a heavy knock and had to be replaced in nets by Walker with substitute Gibson entering the fray. Smithton then had there best spell in the match Macdonald was again caught offside when he was played in although the player went onto finish the whistle had been blown long before. Cassidy then missed a decent effort with his head after good link up between Mackenzie and Baker saw the defender fire an excellent in swinging cross but the young frontman got his angles all wrong and was never in any danger of troubling the goalkeeper. The game then fell into a lull with neither team creating to many chances although Smithton had the upper hand to capitalising on a nervous disposition that had crept through the United ranks.
Half-time 2-0
United opened with a bang keen to eradicate the closing 15 minutes of the first half and when Mackay cut in from the right feeding Cassidy the striker superbly flicked the ball on to Mackenzie who never broke stride before burying the ball in the bottom right corner past the helpless Walker. An air of relief swept the ground as the United sensed that they had taken a big step towards victory. Within 5 minutes they had further extended their lead further Morris fastening onto a Cassidy through ball and firing a right foot across the stand-in goalkeeper leaving him with no chance. Mackay was becoming an ever increasing influence on the game as it became progressively more stretched. When Mackenzie won a corner on the right it was cue goal number five Morris rising superbly at the far post and bulleting a header back across goal where Cassidy reacted the quickest to smartly turn the ball in for his second of the afternoon. United the introduced Tony Farquhar for Kevin Morris giving the big man a deserved rest after a tough spell and allowing the Dunnet talisman to enter the fray. Smithton regrouped at this point and forced a couple of freekicks down their right and Macleod threw in a couple of dangerous balls, which had the United defence in a bit of a tangle and they never learned their lesson as the Inverness team pulled a goal back after 65 minutes Macdonald rising just inside the box to send a looping header beyond Gray. This kick started United back into action, Mackay doubling his account for the day breaking through a couple of tackles on half way he surged into the box and finished coolly with a side foot finish. United altered their side further introducing their two remaining substitutes with 18 minutes to go Manson and J Mackay replacing Cassidy and R Sutherland respectively. Manson then opened his HA account for the season after being released by Farquhar he delicately chipped the ball over the advancing keeper to stretch the score further. As he will probably tell you himself there is no show without punch and Farquhar wrapped up the days scoring latching on to a Mackenzie through pass to knock the ball past the goalkeeper with his left foot.
A much improved performance from United although the game didn’t run all their own way and Smithton certainly pushed them in the latter stages of the first half when United seemed to be panicking a little unnecessarily. Mackay was the standout with a superb display of running with the ball and creating opportunities. Him apart credit must go to Ross Sutherland for a sound performance in midfield on his first full game after injury.
United opened brightly with Mackay clearly in the mood down the right and it was his early cross, which Morris headed just over from a good position. Cassidy had the next opportunity at the near post but his shot was too straight and goalkeeper Murray held on. The game was being played at a high tempo with the home side trying to force the issue and they took the lead after 18 mins Mackay who was bobbing about all over the park cut along the right bye line drove in a cross/cum shot that keeper Murray couldn’t deal with and the ball ricocheted off him into the net. Macdonald up front for Smithton as the week before was proving a handful for the United defence with both his aerial presence and good movement and he out jumped Boyd to knock a long freekick down but he was adjudged to have started from an offside position. Gray then claimed a long freekick and released Mackay again down the right he got to the bye line but Bower cleared his cross at the second attempt. United then doubled their advantage R Sutherland tried to flick on a long Mackay throw but it was only partially cleared back to him, he drove to the dead ball line and cut back for Cassidy to fire home. Within minutes the visitors suffered a major set back Mackenzie released Cassidy and as the striker and goalkeeper Murray challenged for the ball on the edge of the box the keeper took a heavy knock and had to be replaced in nets by Walker with substitute Gibson entering the fray. Smithton then had there best spell in the match Macdonald was again caught offside when he was played in although the player went onto finish the whistle had been blown long before. Cassidy then missed a decent effort with his head after good link up between Mackenzie and Baker saw the defender fire an excellent in swinging cross but the young frontman got his angles all wrong and was never in any danger of troubling the goalkeeper. The game then fell into a lull with neither team creating to many chances although Smithton had the upper hand to capitalising on a nervous disposition that had crept through the United ranks.
Half-time 2-0
United opened with a bang keen to eradicate the closing 15 minutes of the first half and when Mackay cut in from the right feeding Cassidy the striker superbly flicked the ball on to Mackenzie who never broke stride before burying the ball in the bottom right corner past the helpless Walker. An air of relief swept the ground as the United sensed that they had taken a big step towards victory. Within 5 minutes they had further extended their lead further Morris fastening onto a Cassidy through ball and firing a right foot across the stand-in goalkeeper leaving him with no chance. Mackay was becoming an ever increasing influence on the game as it became progressively more stretched. When Mackenzie won a corner on the right it was cue goal number five Morris rising superbly at the far post and bulleting a header back across goal where Cassidy reacted the quickest to smartly turn the ball in for his second of the afternoon. United the introduced Tony Farquhar for Kevin Morris giving the big man a deserved rest after a tough spell and allowing the Dunnet talisman to enter the fray. Smithton regrouped at this point and forced a couple of freekicks down their right and Macleod threw in a couple of dangerous balls, which had the United defence in a bit of a tangle and they never learned their lesson as the Inverness team pulled a goal back after 65 minutes Macdonald rising just inside the box to send a looping header beyond Gray. This kick started United back into action, Mackay doubling his account for the day breaking through a couple of tackles on half way he surged into the box and finished coolly with a side foot finish. United altered their side further introducing their two remaining substitutes with 18 minutes to go Manson and J Mackay replacing Cassidy and R Sutherland respectively. Manson then opened his HA account for the season after being released by Farquhar he delicately chipped the ball over the advancing keeper to stretch the score further. As he will probably tell you himself there is no show without punch and Farquhar wrapped up the days scoring latching on to a Mackenzie through pass to knock the ball past the goalkeeper with his left foot.
A much improved performance from United although the game didn’t run all their own way and Smithton certainly pushed them in the latter stages of the first half when United seemed to be panicking a little unnecessarily. Mackay was the standout with a superb display of running with the ball and creating opportunities. Him apart credit must go to Ross Sutherland for a sound performance in midfield on his first full game after injury.