Thurso Acks praised for ‘fantastic attitude’ after seven-goal thriller in cup final
Player/manager Kyle Innes praised the “fantastic attitude” of his Thurso Acks team-mates after they staged a remarkable fightback to win the Steven Cup.
Acks scored first in Saturday’s final at Lybster but Keiss looked to have one hand on the trophy when a wonder strike by Tony Miller put them 3-1 up early in the second half.
The Thurso side refused to give up, though, and took the game to extra time before sealing a 4-3 victory thanks to Harvey Labor’s header four minutes from the end.
Keiss were down to 10 men by then after Ben Mackay was sent off just before the end of the first period of extra time.
“It’s always great when you manage to fight back,” Innes said after the trophy presentation.
“We were up against a really tough Keiss team and the boys did a cracking job. It was good character to show the cohesion that we’ve been missing throughout the season.
“At 3-1 down we started to gel together. Once we got back into it, once we got the second goal, we were kind of on the front foot.
“I think we controlled the game then and the red card played a big part in us getting the winner.
“It was always going to come from one of our wide guys – they were causing a lot of problems for Keiss.”
Acks opened the scoring after six minutes when Andy Hardwick cut in from the left to finish off a well-worked move.
Keiss got themselves level on 27 minutes when a speculative drive by Miller deceived keeper Jack Ross and rolled into the net.
Ten minutes later Keiss took the lead when Ryan Calder broke through on the right and slotted the ball low past Ross.
The village outfit looked to be firmly in control when Miller added his second of the afternoon eight minutes into the second half. He unleashed an audacious effort from inside the centre circle which dipped into the net just under the crossbar.
Acks reduced the deficit on 67 minutes when John Hooker fired in a rising shot from the left edge of the penalty area, giving keeper Ben Sutherland no chance.
It was all square after 81 minutes when Scott Bell’s angled shot from the right sneaked in at the far post.
Labor completed the comeback with 116 minutes on the clock as he gleefully nodded in a cross from the right.
Innes admitted his keeper was disappointed that he had failed to keep out the Keiss equaliser but emphasised: “In fairness to Jack, he has been a key part in our team this year and he’s a fantastic goalkeeper. He has made some vital saves that have probably kept us in the running in the league and in the cup run as well.”
Acks are still in with a chance of promotion this year but, even if they remain in the second tier next season, Innes believes the future is bright for the club.
“We’re building up,” he said. “After being relegated last year it was always going to be tough.
“But the guys we’ve got coming in have really got a fantastic attitude and it’s a breath of fresh air for us.
“We’ve gone through a couple of years when it has been really hard in the first division, where you’re competing against the top teams in the county.
“The young guys we’ve got, we’ll keep them together and we’ll be back in the first division in no time. These guys will not just be staying in the division – I’d expect them to be up there challenging.”
The Steven Cup, named after Murdo Steven, is the annual knockout tournament for Caithness AFA Division Two clubs. The trophy was presented to Acks by Murdo’s daughter Amanda Steven and Amanda’s son Calum Barrowman.
After their agonising defeat in the Steven Cup final, the focus for Keiss is firmly on Thursday night’s crunch match against Thurso Swifts in the battle for automatic promotion to the top flight of the county league.
Victory for Keiss at the Dammies would make them second division champions. A draw would keep the title race going until the final round of fixtures, with the top two still separated by two points, while a win for Swifts would put them in pole position.
Acks also have an outside chance of ending up in top spot.
Player/manager Bradley Thomson was disappointed at the way Keiss failed to capitalise after going 3-1 up early in the second half at Cow Park on Saturday.
“It shows a bit of vulnerability,” he said. “It has happened to us before this season as well. We need to get up from this and then on Thursday we go again.
“Swifts are a good team. They’ve given us trouble this year as well.
“If we perform like we did in the first half, and then coming into the second half, we can beat anybody. But if we perform like we did for the last 25 minutes they could do us.
“They’ll be confident going into it as well – they’ve got good players.”
Results – CAFA Division Two: Pentland 1, Halkirk 4.
Highland Amateur Cup, semi-finals: High Ormlie Hotspur 2, Avoch 3; Stornoway Athletic 0, Pentland United 2.
Steven Cup final: Acks 4, Keiss 3 (after extra time).
Fixtures – Tuesday, August 6 – Division One: High Ormlie Hotspur v Staxigoe United; John O’Groats v Lybster; Wick Groats v Pentland United. Division Two: Halkirk v Acks (all 7pm).
Wednesday, August 7 – Division One: Wick Thistle v Castletown (7pm).
Thursday, August 8 – Division Two: Halkirk v Pentland; Swifts v Keiss; Top Joe’s v Watten (all 7pm).
Saturday, August 10 – David Allan Shield final: Staxigoe United v Wick Groats (3pm, Dammies).
