A game of ‘harsh’ bookings’ and ‘poor decisions’
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ACADEMY boss Davie Kirkwood said that poor decisions from the referee were to blame for his side’s agonising defeat against Huntly.
He focused on the sending off of Craig Shearer and said that both bookings were harsh.
Despite ending the game with 10 men, Kirkwood was pleased with the way his side played and he is looking forward to meeting Fraserburgh at Harmsworth Park on Saturday.
"The referee had a major influence on the game and the players didn’t seem to know where they stood with him," he said. "For Craig Shearer to be booked for asking a question – why the referee gave a penalty kick – was concerning.
"Despite this, I said to Richard Hughes [assistant manager] that the boys deserved a lot credit as I thought we were good enough for at least a point.
"But a moment of madness and poor decision-making led to us losing the game."
He added: "In the first half the lads were in excellent form but in the second half Huntly did seem to be getting on top of them, although the lads deserve a lot of credit for trying to grind out a result.
"Huntly were an impressive outfit with a lot of good young players, but we matched them for the whole game.
"Not one team has dominated us but there have been some frustrating losses to Rothes, Lossiemouth and Deveronvale.
"But after eight games, we’re only seven points behind the leaders with a game in hand. If we win our next game, that will shoot us up the table and we can continue to progress from there."
Huntly manager Dave McGinlay said that his side had been involved in a tough encounter and was pleased with the way his players responded in the second half.
"Wick Academy are one of the best attacking sides in the league," he said. "It was a match we’d been looking forward to all week and we thought both sides would make it an attractive game.
"They were the better side in the first half and caused us a few problems. But we responded well in the second half and the game could have gone either way."
"After Craig Shearer was sent off it, we pushed on for the win and put three strikers up front.
"That’s always a gamble, but it’s a great feeling if it comes off. Credit goes to David Booth – he showed a touch of class with his goal and he didn’t panic when he found himself in that position."
