Academy’s Harlaw Park heartache in Scottish Cup
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WICK Academy suffered a heartbreaking first-round Scottish Cup defeat to Inverurie at Harlaw Park on Saturday.
Going in at the break two goals up only to lose 3-2 could easily be described as the archetypal “game of two halves”. More accurately it was a tale of two strikers.
Wick’s Craig Gunn netted two superb goals and saw a spectacular net-bound volley repelled by an even more spectacular one-handed save from Inverurie keeper Andy Reid just before the end.
Meanwhile, Inverurie’s Chris Angus had turned the contest on its head with a second-half hat-trick.
Gunn gave Academy a dream start with a seventh-minute goal. Gordon MacNab, Davie Allan and Alan Hughes built up an attack on the right and a speculative cross landed 25 yards in front of the Inverurie goal.
As two defenders hesitated, Gunn nipped between them. The wind-assisted bounce deceived the keeper as Gunn caught up with the ball to the left of the goal and deftly lofted it over Reid’s head with the outside of his right foot.
Wick keeper Sean McCarthy was soon in action, saving from Ryan Stott and watching carefully as Andrew Watt poked a close-range effort just wide.
Academy counter-attacks saw Allan shoot only inches wide and Hughes cut in from the left to fire into the side netting.
McCarthy saved two efforts from Angus and pushed an Andy Hunter free kick round the post.
The resultant corner was cleared upfield and from 35 or possibly 40 yards Gunn rifled the ball in off a post, doubling the Wick lead after 32 minutes – surely a contender for goal of the round.
Allan went close with an early second-half effort but it was soon mostly one-way traffic.
McCarthy fielded a drive from Sam Burnett but had no chance in the 56th minute when a cross from the right fell to Angus, who turned it in from close range.
After repeated headed clearances by Alan Farquhar and Ryan Campbell, Angus netted a 68th-minute equaliser when he chased a through ball and steered it past McCarthy.
Wick’s attacks were limited to a couple of free kicks on the right by Gunn and a shot into the side net from substitute Richard Macadie.
Locos went ahead after 76 minutes when a long ball came over Angus’s shoulder and the striker smashed it first-time into the net.
Gunn’s 88th-minute volley was worthy of an equaliser but it was not to be.
Any attempt to describe and analyse Academy’s second-half slump would probably sound patronising or a feeble excuse: a backs-to-the-wall battle by our brave boys against physically stronger, streetwise strikers as they faced up to an aerial bombardment, dazzled by the bright sun.
Whatever your interpretation of the action, it was a desperately disappointing way to exit the national cup competition.
Academy are away to Fort William this Saturday in a rearranged Highland League fixture.
Inverurie Locos: A Reid, T Reid, Souter, Burnett, Watson, Broadhurst, Mitchell, Watt (Gauld 66), Hunter, Angus (MacLean 90+1), Stott. Subs not used: Gordon, Cooper, Gill, Buckham.
Wick Academy: McCarthy, Manson, Farquhar, S Mackay, R Allan, Halliday, Campbell (Sinclair 79), D Allan, MacNab (R Macadie 56), Gunn, Hughes. Subs not used: More, M Macadie, Koziol, Martens, Aitkenhead.
Referee: George Calder.
