A continuing good spell was rewarded with an equaliser after 14 minutes. The ball came over from the right to Gary Weir who from 8 yards slammed it into the net off the base of Kevin Main's right hand post.
Richard Macadie operating in the centre of the midfield and Bryan McKiddie just to his right were seeing plenty of the ball and using it well but any hopes of taking charge of the game were dashed by a double whammie near the half hour. Paul Napier sent over a deep cross from the Buckie right and from 15 yards Munro's volley flashed inside James More's right post. The home fans acclaimed the return of their prodigal son from his spell with SFL Second Division Peterhead and also welcomed the arrival of debut boy Martin Charlesworth from Elgin City when he replaced the injured Charlie Brown. Within a couple of minutes Napier fired in a viciously swerving cross, this time to the near post where MacLeod, reaching it ahead of the Jags' forwards had the misfortune of scoring an own goal, the ball glancing off his forehead and leaving keeper More stranded.
To their credit the Wickers battled on and in the 38th minute Shearer almost caught out Main with a 35 yard drive. The ball was heading for the top corner of the net and the Buckie keeper leapt to his right to palm it away. Retrieved by Macadie and driven across the face of the goal the loose ball was eventually cleared for a corner following which a close range shot from MacKenzie was blocked on the line.
Buckie nearly added to their tally before the break. From Duncan's corner on the right, a Steve Bruce header rattled the crossbar and then More made a fine catch at his back post under pressure from Munro when Bruce crossed from the left.
The Academy team was stunned by a fourth goal straight from the restart. Both sets of players watched in amazement as the ball came 40 yards down the middle and Bruce's effort smacked off the underside of the bar to bounce just behind the line.
In the 54th minute Bruce laid it on a plate for Charlesworth who with all the time in the world blazed the ball over the gaping goal from 8 yards.
Wick responded to this let off with a raid which brought a free kick on the left but this and the subsequent corner were rare chances at this stage of the game.
Buckie extended their lead when Napier crossed low from the right and Bruce scored from 6 yards with a spectacular full length diving header.
MacKenzie and Weir combined to attack the heart of the home defence but MacKenzie's effort was charged down and they had to be content with a corner.
Despite the heat, play was going rapidly from end and Bruce looked certain to complete a hat trick when he cut in from the right and drilled the ball past the advancing More but to Wick relief the ball lodged in the side net. Within five minutes Buckie did net a sixth goal. When Shewan crossed low from the right, More saved Charlesworth's first effort but the Jags' debut boy was quickly on to the rebound and stroked it into the bottom corner of the net.
Perhaps Buckie took their foot off the pedal a bit but Academy actually were on top for the last fifteen minutes with young Greg Shearer making several raids on the right. From a second successive corner on the left Stewart Ross scored a consolation goal leaping at the near post to net with a well judged glancing header. There was almost a third goal when Craig Shearer played a one – two with Cowie and chipped the ball ahead of Weir who sliced it wide from 12 yards.
Despite the score this game will have been another valuable learning experience for young players who could soon be challenging for a regular place in the starting line up. After fashioning a workmanlike team from scant resources this week, managers Munro and Hughes will face a different task next Saturday when they ponder the possible permutations of a full squad for another tough game when championship challengers Inverurie Locos come to Harmsworth Park.
