Highland League round-up
Saturday January 21st
Allan secures a point after Keith venue switch
Academy picked up their first point of 2012 with a
well-deserved 1-1 draw against Keith at Kynoch
Park on Saturday.
The clubs had been due to meet at Harmsworth
Park but the venue was
switched as the Wick ground remained waterlogged following recent heavy rain.
Saturday's encounter in Keith therefore fulfilled a fixture that had been
postponed from its original date of September 10th 2011.
Academy were playing into a strong wind in the first half
and Michael Gray was called into action to tip a Sean Keith effort over the
bar.
The Maroons went ahead after 29 minutes when Andy MacAskill
delivered an inswinging corner and Kris Niddrie headed it home at the back
post.
The Scorries responded well to this setback and got
themselves level in the 42nd minute. Stevie Cunningham chipped the
ball over the Keith back line and Davie Allan was on it in a flash, rounding
keeper Andy Shearer before slotting it into the net from the corner of the
six-yard box.
Allan came close to putting Academy ahead in the second half
when he beat four opponents before firing a 20-yard shot just wide.
Keeper Shearer had to be alert to deny Cunningham and Allan
as Academy continued to look threatening. There was a late let-off at the other
end, though, when Cammy Keith went down in the box and the home side's penalty
appeals were waved away.
Overall, it was a game Academy could have won but the
management will nevertheless see it as a useful point gained.
Brora Rangers pulled themselves further clear of the bottom
two clubs after twice coming from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with Fraserburgh.
The Broch went into the game knowing that three points would
lift them up to third, but they found Brora in resolute mood at a wintry Dudgeon
Park.
Mark Cowie made the breakthrough for the visitors two
minutes into the second half with a close-range finish. Liam Baxter levelled
with a free kick in the 53rd minute only for Scott Barbour to force the ball
home five minutes later to restore Fraserburgh's lead.
However, the Cattachs secured a share of the spoils with a
header from Steven Ross with a quarter of an hour to go.
There was a surprising half-time scoreline at Mosset
Park where the leaders,
Forres Mechanics, were trailing against bottom club Strathspey Thistle.
Joe Hardie was the man who put the Grantown Jags ahead with
six minutes gone. They kept the Can-Cans at bay until Garry Tweedie's
56th-minute equaliser, then Neil Whyte struck on 77 minutes to seal a 2-1 victory
for the home side.
Cove Rangers won by the same score against Inverurie Locos
at Allan Park, where the visitors blew the chance to grab a point by missing a
last-minute penalty.
Cove led through Jordan Leyden's 15th-minute strike until
Ryan Broadhurst got Locos level in the 77th minute. An own goal by Neil McLean
with three minutes remaining restored Cove's advantage, and they breathed a
huge sigh of relief in the closing stages when Inverurie were awarded a
spot-kick only for Clark Bain to send it wide.
Reigning champions Buckie Thistle moved back into the top
four after a hard-fought 3-2 win against Turriff United at Victoria Park.
Zander Sutherland's opener for the Jags was cancelled out by
Jerry O'Driscoll. Craig MacMillan restored Buckie's lead only for Donald Fraser
to level things up again.
Buckie substitute Andrew Gardiner had the final say as he
hit a spectacular late winner.
Substitute Kris Duncan netted a hat-trick as Deveronvale
extended their winning run to four games with an easy 6-0 victory over Fort
William at Princess
Royal Park.
Graeme Rodger, Mike McKenzie (penalty) and Graeme Watt were also on target for
the Banff side.
Three other scheduled matches fell victim to the weather.
