Wick Academy looking to reorganise defence ahead of trip to face Highland League leaders Fraserburgh
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Wick Academy manager Gary Manson acknowledges Fraserburgh are a well-oiled unit who “score goals for fun” – but he says his team won't be lacking in confidence when they take on the Highland League leaders at Bellslea Park on Saturday.
The Scorries will have some reorganising to do in central defence as Danny Mackay has been hit with a two-game ban following his red card against Rothes and Andy Hardwick will miss out through work commitments, while Joe Anderson is likely to remain sidelined by injury.
“We're waiting to see how Joe comes through this week but the chances are he'll be unavailable as well, so we'll just need to have a think about what we're going to do defensive-wise,” Manson said. “It's not ideal, but we've certainly been here before.”
Eighth-placed Academy had been on a run of six wins in a row, and eight from nine games, until losing 2-1 at home to the Speysiders last weekend. Fraserburgh's 2-1 win at Huntly ensured that Mark Cowie's men remain six points clear at the top.
“Certainly this season Fraserburgh are up there on merit,” Manson said. “They've shown over the course of the season so far that they're worthy title contenders.
“They've got a really settled squad there. There are eight or nine nine players that very rarely change.
“They have a well-drilled, well-oiled core throughout the spine of their team, so it will be a tough game.
“But we're in good form as well. Obviously we had a blip on Saturday, but even with that result the performance wasn't too bad.
“We'll be going down there in good spirits, in a confident mood, so we'll see what happens.
“We'll show them the respect that they've warranted by being top of the league. But you don't go down with any fear – you go down to try and enjoy the game and try and get something out of it, so that's exactly what we'll be doing.”
Fraserburgh won 5-2 when they visited Harmsworth Park in September, with three goals in quick succession before the break doing most of the damage.
“It was 0-0 up until about 10 minutes before half-time, then they scored three goals in about five minutes,” Manson recalled. “That just killed the game.
“You're getting near to half-time, 0-0, doing well in the game and then five minutes of madness and you're 3-0 down.
“The 5-2 scoreline certainly flattered them that day, but we're under no illusions they are a very good team and they score goals for fun.
“Their comeback against Brechin City three weeks ago [to win 5-3] shows that they've got that mentality that they just keep going to the end. A lot of teams would have thrown in the towel at 3-0 down.”
Highland League fixtures for Saturday: Brechin City v Nairn County; Buckie Thistle v Brora Rangers; Deveronvale v Clachnacuddin; Fraserburgh v Wick Academy; Huntly v Formartine United; Inverurie Locos v Fort William; Keith v Lossiemouth; Rothes v Strathspey Thistle; Turriff United v Forres Mechanics.
