Anderson held his head
in his hands when his goal-bound shot took a deflection and went out for a
corner.
Two minutes before the
break Vale took the lead. Grant Noble had a great effort that was well saved by
McCarthy but he could only parry it to the feet of Paul Sutherland who made no
mistake in gobbling up re-bound to net from 10 yards out.
1 – 2
Half Time – Wick Academy
1 – Deveronvale 2
On the hour Academy were
awarded another penalty when Lewis Dunbar handled the ball in the box. This
time Sam Mackay assumed the honours and he hammered home into the bottom left
hand corner.
2 – 2
The match started to hot
up and the Academy players surrounded referee Billy Baxter in protest as he
awarded Vale an indirect free-kick inside the Academy box. The ball looked to
have come off the heel of James Pickles and ran through to McCarthy who picked
it up, and it was adjudged to have been a back-pass. With every Academy player
back in their own penalty area the Vale free-kick smashed off the defensive
wall and out for a corner.
With 12 minutes left on
the clock Vale went down to 10 men. Steven Fraser came in on James Pickles with
a lunging tackle and referee Baxter had no hesitation in flashing him a
straight red card.
Academy hunted for the
winner and won a free kick. Sam Mackay took it but his attempt cracked off the
wall. It fell to Michael Steven on the edge of the box and he hit it as sweet
as a nut. The ball curled passed Blanchard and bulged the net sending the
Harmsworth Park into ecstasy, but the joy was short lived as the stand-side
linesman called over the ref. He must have thought that someone was impeding the
keeper, as the goal was chalked off.
With Academy pushing forward
still looking for the winner Vale broke out of defence and Nathan Smith almost
won it but his flashing drive went just passed the outside of McCarthy's right
hand post.
Full Time – Wick Academy
2 – Deveronvale 2
