Highland League round-up
Saturday February 25th
Scorries stunned by Turriff turnaround
A sensational start counted for nothing in the end as
Academy crashed to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Turriff United.
Davie Allan's double inside the opening three minutes
looked to have put the Scorries well on their way to a first-ever win at The
Haughs, but a topsy-turvy encounter was settled by Ryan Cowie's late strike for
the home side.
It was the first time in 10 months that Academy had
conceded four goals in a competitive match.
Davie Kirkwood's men went into the game in confident mood
following impressive victories over Fraserburgh and Forres.
And they got off to a great start when, for the second
Saturday in a row, Allan grabbed a first-minute goal. Richard Macadie played a
long ball over the defence and Allan kept his nerve to lob keeper Stephen
Coutts from 18 yards.
Allan struck again in the third minute. This time Ross
Allan knocked the ball over the top and, with appeals for offside being waved
away by referee Ryan Milne, the Academy number nine cut in and skipped past
Coutts before firing home his 16th goal of the season.
Turriff got themselves back into it five minutes later
when Alan Farquhar was adjudged to have pushed Cowie inside the penalty box and
Jerry O'Driscoll made no mistake from the spot.
A further spell of pressure from Turriff paid off on 35
minutes when Cowie's cross was headed in by Richie Ligertwood.
Academy regained the lead on the stroke of half-time. Sam
Mackay delivered a free kick into the box and Coutts flapped at it, allowing
Michael Steven to nod the ball into the net.
Turriff got back on level terms after 63 minutes when
player/manager Mark Simpson poked the ball home from close range in the
aftermath of a corner.
Cowie squandered a great chance to put the home side in
front for the first time when all he could manage was a fresh-air kick in front
of an open goal.
However, he made up for that miss with five minutes to
go. James Chalmers' cross from the right was flicked on by O'Driscoll and Cowie
swept it home at the back post.
Strathspey Thistle climbed off the bottom of the league
as they celebrated their first win of the season, beating Brora Rangers 2-0 at
Seafield Park.
The Grantown Jags went into the match full of confidence
following their draw at Buckie, and they deservedly took the lead on 27 minutes
through Craig Rothney. David Ritchie made sure of the points in the 76th
minute.
Strathspey's Mateusz Bobrowski sent off late on but there
was no way back for Brora.
Fort William slipped to bottom spot after a 3-0 defeat at
Inverurie.
The Lochaber men held out until the 73rd minute when Neil
Gauld put Locos ahead from the spot. Gauld added another penalty after 83
minutes and Craig Ross completed the scoring with three minutes left.
At the top of the table, Cove Rangers remain two points
clear after coming from behind to beat Huntly 2-1 at Christie Park.
Neale Davidson put Huntly in front on 11 minutes but Cove
levelled just after the hour mark when a Martin Johnston effort was deemed to
have crossed the line. Jordan Leyden sealed the victory with 12 minutes to go.
Second-placed Forres got their title challenge back on
track with a 4-2 victory over Formartine United at Mosset Park.
Willie Barron hit a double for the Can-Cans, whose other
scorers were Kevin Duguid and Nathan Sharp. Andrew Bagshaw and Colin Robertson
replied for the visitors.
Clach, playing their first game since before Christmas,
put up a spirited performance at Keith before succumbing to a 3-2 defeat.
Andy MacAskill put the Maroons in front and they looked
to be heading for a comfortable win when Cammy Keith weighed in with a double
before the break.
But Alan Pollock pulled one back from the penalty spot
and the same player headed home his second of the afternoon to put the
Lilywhites right back in it.
Early goals by Martin Charlesworth and Zander Sutherland
set Buckie on their way to a 2-1 win at Rothes. The Jags had Mark Chisholm sent
off at the start of the second half and Michael Fletcher pulled one back for
Rothes, but the 10 men held on.
Steven Main's last-gasp goal earned a share of the points
for Fraserburgh in their match against Nairn County at Station Park. Steven
Mackay put Nairn ahead with a 51st-minute penalty but Main struck in stoppage
time to make it 1-1.
It also finished all square at Grant Park, where
Deveronvale twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Lossiemouth.
Ross Archibald and Nikki Smith were on target for the
home side, with Graeme Watt and Graeme Rodger replying for Vale. Lossie's Kevin
Flett was red-carded with the score at 1-1.
