Post by Brian Mackay on Aug 10, 2003 12:03:54 GMT
CAFA League Division One - Monday 4th of August 2003
Wick Groats 0 V Pentland United 3 - By Michael Gray
Another glorious Caithness night welcomed the United entourage to Wick for the penultimate league fixture of the 2003 season slightly contrasting surface conditions however compared with the Friday night fixture with a rather worn looking Upper Bignold park showing the signs of a hard summer.
United were forced to make a couple of changes to the squad that had won the David Allan Shield on Friday night Brian Gray started a two game suspension while Luke Cassidy was unavailable, Hamish Boyd returned to the first 11 while Willie Inrig made a welcome return to the squad after injury.
Nigel Mackenzie showed early signs that he may be in the mood to unlock the Groats defence marshalled by the experienced duo of Miller and MacDonald. His first run took him past marker Sutherland and as the chance opened up for him he struck a low drive but unfortunately the ball flew into the side net past the diving Macleod.
United's main problem seemed to be their inability to fasten on to secondary possession in quick succession Morris and Sutherland both rose clear from their markers and managed to return the ball into dangerous areas but on both occasions keeper Macleod stepped forward to claim the ball unchallenged.
K Ross tried to respond for the home outfit and his shot, which bounced awkwardly of the turf and caused keeper Gray a moment of concern but he held on to the ball.
Beattie was trying to make his impression on the match and he dispossessed Swanson on the right hand side before his run and cross almost brought about the opener but for a timely intervention by Miller, Morris would have had a clear sight of goal. Bremner then won the ball thirty yards from his own goal and produced a superb run and as the chance opened up in front of him he elected to shoot and his shot drifted harmlessly away but he had made his intention clear.
The opener came after 25 mins and it came from a Bremner corner from the left he delivered a pinpoint cross onto Morris's head and he bulleted the ball downwards with Ross Sutherland reacting quickest to flick the ball home from a reasonably tight challenge to settle some of the early nerves displayed by United.
S Sutherland became the game's first booking for a rash challenge on the goalscorer after he had linked well with Mackenzie and got to the bye line. Farmer almost doubled the lead with a powerful header from a Beattie corner he rose at the near post as he came away from goal and re-directed a firm header only inches wide with Macleod beaten.
Five minutes before half-time the visitors doubled their advantage and it came from another corner this time from the opposite side and from a Beattie delivery again Morris rose highest and sent in a powerful header that Farquhar redirected with the merest of touches however it was enough to wrong foot the home defence and ball nestled in the back of the net.
Half-time 2-0 to PUFC
United tried to impose themselves right from the kick-off but their play somehow lacked the real free flowing style they had displayed for the majority of the season too often they became bogged down in the wide areas and all too frequently the final ball came up short in terms of quality.
The third goal however came less than ten minutes into the second half and it was largely down to good individual play from Russel Beattie he stole the ball from Swanson on half way and strode forward dragging two defenders out to him before delivering a pin point cross, which saw Morris take a quality first touch before prodding the ball home to surely put the game beyond the Groats. Although the goal probably sounded the death nail for the Groats fight for survival you would have never known it they continued to battle and fight for every inch of the park and every loose ball.
United almost made it four from a Bremner freekick on the right, which saw John Skinner nod the ball goalwards and Ross Sutherland producing the deftest of backheel touches but Macleod was equal to it and produced a very good save pushing the ball up onto the bar and the chance disappeared.
K Ross earned the Groats a freekick on the very edge of the area after a quick counter had saw United toiling to get back and Skinner saw fit to end the attack rather abruptly knocking the striker to the ground, C Ross took the freekick but he failed to beat the wall and Gray gathered up the ricochet.
Gavin Bremner then tried his luck from distance after a three man link-up between Sutherland and Farquhar allowed him possession in the centre of the park but his shot was high and wide. United then missed an extraordinary chance when Farquhar rose highest he headed the ball down and it appeared all Morris had to do was tap the ball into the empty net all be it from a tight angle but he missed controlled the ball and it crossed the bye line harmlessly for a goal kick.
Beattie then set off on a brilliant run leaving two defenders in his wake as he cruised into the box his run was brought to a grinding halt by Miller but the huge appeals for a penalty were ignored by referee Gunn.
United then made a couple of changes J Sutherland and Willie Inrig replacing Farquhar and Boyd resulting in somewhat of a reshuffle with Farmer retreating to sweeper and Skinner moving to a marking role. In fact Skinner was one of the more prominent attackers in the latter stages proving a useful outlet and one dazzling run nearly resulted in him opening his account for the year but it just wasn't to be.
With around 10 to go Elder replaced Beattie for the final change and the substitute had the final opportunity when he met Skinner's low cross and fired it at the goal but Macleod was up to it and pushed the ball for a corner.
Match summary
A slightly disappointing display from United maybe suffering the effects of such a tough match on the Friday previous but whatever the reason the football was not of a great standard. Too often the final ball failed to pick out a team mate although the surface in Wick was certainly not conducive to good football also the finishing very rarely troubled the keeper. For me the top performers on the night were Martin Baker who rarely put a foot wrong gave the opposition very little room and used the ball sensibly when in possession and Ross Sutherland who managed to fit in a power of work and covered a lot of ground with the added bonus of notching the opening goal.
M Gray, J Skinner, R Farmer, M Baker, H Boyd (Inrig 72), G Bremner, R Sutherland, T Farquhar (J Sutherland 75), R Beattie (G Elder 81), K Morris, N Mackenzie
;D
Wick Groats 0 V Pentland United 3 - By Michael Gray
Another glorious Caithness night welcomed the United entourage to Wick for the penultimate league fixture of the 2003 season slightly contrasting surface conditions however compared with the Friday night fixture with a rather worn looking Upper Bignold park showing the signs of a hard summer.
United were forced to make a couple of changes to the squad that had won the David Allan Shield on Friday night Brian Gray started a two game suspension while Luke Cassidy was unavailable, Hamish Boyd returned to the first 11 while Willie Inrig made a welcome return to the squad after injury.
Nigel Mackenzie showed early signs that he may be in the mood to unlock the Groats defence marshalled by the experienced duo of Miller and MacDonald. His first run took him past marker Sutherland and as the chance opened up for him he struck a low drive but unfortunately the ball flew into the side net past the diving Macleod.
United's main problem seemed to be their inability to fasten on to secondary possession in quick succession Morris and Sutherland both rose clear from their markers and managed to return the ball into dangerous areas but on both occasions keeper Macleod stepped forward to claim the ball unchallenged.
K Ross tried to respond for the home outfit and his shot, which bounced awkwardly of the turf and caused keeper Gray a moment of concern but he held on to the ball.
Beattie was trying to make his impression on the match and he dispossessed Swanson on the right hand side before his run and cross almost brought about the opener but for a timely intervention by Miller, Morris would have had a clear sight of goal. Bremner then won the ball thirty yards from his own goal and produced a superb run and as the chance opened up in front of him he elected to shoot and his shot drifted harmlessly away but he had made his intention clear.
The opener came after 25 mins and it came from a Bremner corner from the left he delivered a pinpoint cross onto Morris's head and he bulleted the ball downwards with Ross Sutherland reacting quickest to flick the ball home from a reasonably tight challenge to settle some of the early nerves displayed by United.
S Sutherland became the game's first booking for a rash challenge on the goalscorer after he had linked well with Mackenzie and got to the bye line. Farmer almost doubled the lead with a powerful header from a Beattie corner he rose at the near post as he came away from goal and re-directed a firm header only inches wide with Macleod beaten.
Five minutes before half-time the visitors doubled their advantage and it came from another corner this time from the opposite side and from a Beattie delivery again Morris rose highest and sent in a powerful header that Farquhar redirected with the merest of touches however it was enough to wrong foot the home defence and ball nestled in the back of the net.
Half-time 2-0 to PUFC
United tried to impose themselves right from the kick-off but their play somehow lacked the real free flowing style they had displayed for the majority of the season too often they became bogged down in the wide areas and all too frequently the final ball came up short in terms of quality.
The third goal however came less than ten minutes into the second half and it was largely down to good individual play from Russel Beattie he stole the ball from Swanson on half way and strode forward dragging two defenders out to him before delivering a pin point cross, which saw Morris take a quality first touch before prodding the ball home to surely put the game beyond the Groats. Although the goal probably sounded the death nail for the Groats fight for survival you would have never known it they continued to battle and fight for every inch of the park and every loose ball.
United almost made it four from a Bremner freekick on the right, which saw John Skinner nod the ball goalwards and Ross Sutherland producing the deftest of backheel touches but Macleod was equal to it and produced a very good save pushing the ball up onto the bar and the chance disappeared.
K Ross earned the Groats a freekick on the very edge of the area after a quick counter had saw United toiling to get back and Skinner saw fit to end the attack rather abruptly knocking the striker to the ground, C Ross took the freekick but he failed to beat the wall and Gray gathered up the ricochet.
Gavin Bremner then tried his luck from distance after a three man link-up between Sutherland and Farquhar allowed him possession in the centre of the park but his shot was high and wide. United then missed an extraordinary chance when Farquhar rose highest he headed the ball down and it appeared all Morris had to do was tap the ball into the empty net all be it from a tight angle but he missed controlled the ball and it crossed the bye line harmlessly for a goal kick.
Beattie then set off on a brilliant run leaving two defenders in his wake as he cruised into the box his run was brought to a grinding halt by Miller but the huge appeals for a penalty were ignored by referee Gunn.
United then made a couple of changes J Sutherland and Willie Inrig replacing Farquhar and Boyd resulting in somewhat of a reshuffle with Farmer retreating to sweeper and Skinner moving to a marking role. In fact Skinner was one of the more prominent attackers in the latter stages proving a useful outlet and one dazzling run nearly resulted in him opening his account for the year but it just wasn't to be.
With around 10 to go Elder replaced Beattie for the final change and the substitute had the final opportunity when he met Skinner's low cross and fired it at the goal but Macleod was up to it and pushed the ball for a corner.
Match summary
A slightly disappointing display from United maybe suffering the effects of such a tough match on the Friday previous but whatever the reason the football was not of a great standard. Too often the final ball failed to pick out a team mate although the surface in Wick was certainly not conducive to good football also the finishing very rarely troubled the keeper. For me the top performers on the night were Martin Baker who rarely put a foot wrong gave the opposition very little room and used the ball sensibly when in possession and Ross Sutherland who managed to fit in a power of work and covered a lot of ground with the added bonus of notching the opening goal.
M Gray, J Skinner, R Farmer, M Baker, H Boyd (Inrig 72), G Bremner, R Sutherland, T Farquhar (J Sutherland 75), R Beattie (G Elder 81), K Morris, N Mackenzie
;D