Wick Academy U17 6 Clachnacuddin U17A 2
Academy’s youngsters fought back from a goal down at Harmsworth Park on Sunday 27 February to seal a comfortable win against their Inverness rivals.
The young Scorries started brightly and Clach keeper Lewis Kellagher had to make a spectacular point blank save to keep out a diving header from Scott Bell and then finger tipped the resultant corner kick over his crossbar. Jack Halliday was close when he tried his luck with a low 25 yard drive.
When Clach launched their first attack down the slope Academy keeper Gordon Clark was alert and saved at the feet of Andrew Ross. However Clark was caught out in the 15th minute when he chased Martin Dey out to the left side of his area and sent the Clach striker tumbling with a clumsy tackle. Dey promptly dispatched the penalty kick to give the visitors first blood.
As Academy continued to push forward Garry Farquhar pulled a shot wide of the target and then Alan Hughes ran on to a defence splitting pass down the right from James Mackay only to rattle the near upright.
Steady pressure during the second half hour period was rewarded when Ryan Begg fired a 27 yard free kick into the roof of the Clach net in the 44th minute. A piledriver from Halliday pole axed the unfortunate Paul Reid but the brave Clach defender recovered to return to the field. In the 58th minute James Mackay ran through down the Academy right and to lash an unstoppable shot past Kellagher and put the fledging Scorries ahead. Scott Davidson almost snatched an equaliser for the Lilywhites in added time but Clark showed fine anticipation to keep the ball out of his net.
In the third period Academy eventually took complete control netting four goals in 8 minutes. After 67 minutes Richard Budge crossed from the left and Marc MacGregor netted with a diving header and within a couple of minutes Hughes slotted home a fourth. The fifth soon came when Begg headed in from a corner on the left and he then completed his hat trick by firing in 20 yard free kick.
Clach rallied during the final quarter of an hour. A well judged tackle by David Dunnett halted Davidson as the Inverness lad lined up a close range shot and then Cameron Duffy who had taken over in the Wick net was kept busy twice diving to push away close range efforts from Gordon Hooker. The Academy defence was caught flatfooted moments from the final whistle when Hooker pursued a through ball and netted a consolation goal for the visitors.
Manager James Robertson said that he and coach George Groat were very happy with their team’s overall performance. “This was our first game in about four months and we were a bit rusty in the first half hour. After a wee chat at the first break the boys settled down, played better and looked much sharper over the next 45 minutes. At 6-1 up they got a bit slack in the last ten minutes when they thought the game was over and done. We are certainly happy with the result, it was a good performance with some good goals and have now beaten every other team in the league.”
Wick Academy U-17: Gordon Clark, Steven Blackwood, Garry Farquhar, David Dunnett, Scott Bell, James Mackay, Marc Coghill, Jack Halliday, Alan Hughes, Ryan Begg, Chris Green, Marc MacGregor, Jordan Howden, Richard Budge, Kerr Mackay, Cameron Duffy.
Clachnacuddin A U-17: Lewis Kellagher, Matthew Shewan, Charlie Logan, Richard Tawse, Martin Duncan, Kenneth Macrae, Jamie MacDonald, Andrew Ross, Gordon Hooker, Martin Dey, Scott Davidson, Fraser Robertson, Calum Finlayson, Paul Reid.
Referee: Alex MacDonald.
The squad is pictured below with their coaches George Groat and James Robertson before the game
