Mackay hat-trick secures win
Academy have a few weeks
pre-season training under their belt, but today the players got 90 minutes of game
legs against Thurso FC.
Academy opened the scoring in the 12th
minute. Davie Allan drove up the right wing and cut the ball across into the
penalty area where Weir got a slight flick to send it into the path of Stevie
Cunningham and he swept the ball home.
0 – 1
Academy won a penalty kick in the 25th
minute when Davie Allan was taken down from behind in the box. Sam Mackay drove
the spot-kick down the middle and it was blocked by Williamson but Mackay
followed in and knocked home the rebound.
0 – 2
The Vikings pulled a good goal back
just on the half-hour. James Murray slid the ball down the left channel for
Lukas Geruzel and he hammered the ball past More into his bottom left hand
corner.
1 – 2
Six minutes later Academy had a good
passing attack that sliced open the Thurso back-line. Cunningham and Alan
Farquhar had a neat interchange of passes which sent Farquhar bursting through
on goal but his cut-back was cleared for a corner.
In the last minute of the first half Joe Steven showed his
power to hold off his marker and charged into the box before sending a
thunder-bolt across Williamson and into the top right hand corner of the net.
1 – 3
Half-time 1 – 3
2 minutes into the second half the home side won a corner
that was fired into the box. Stewart Ross stooped to try to avoid it but the
ball came off his head and flew into the net for an own-goal.
2 – 3
Geruzel showed his power in the next
Thurso attack when he broke into the corner of the box and got a powerful shot
on target that Michael Gray tipped over the cross-bar.
In the 52nd minute the ball was
worked down the left flank by Manson before being cut across goal for Stewart
Ross to fire home.
2 – 4
A minute later Thurso pumped a high
ball over the top of the Academy back line and James Murray got onto the end of
it to march into the box and rifle home.
3 – 4
In the 72nd minute
substitute James Mackay broke down the right wing and he picked out Sam Mackay
with a 40 yard cross-field pass. Mackay took one touch to control the ball which sat up
perfectly for him to blast past keeper Williamson.
3 – 5
5 minutes later Mackay scored his
hat-trick. Cunningham slid an inch-perfect pass through the middle of the
Thurso back-line for Mackay to take forward. Williamson was 6 yards off his
line and Mackay executed a perfect chip which went over the top of the out-stretched
Williamson and into the back of the net.
3 – 6
Full-time 3 – 6
