Allan hat-trick earns another win as Manson praises team's character
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Wick Academy's battling qualities came to the fore yet again on Saturday as Davie Allan's hat-trick earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Keith at Harmsworth Park.
The Scorries got off to an ideal start with Allan's opener inside two minutes, but by the midway point in the second half the Maroons had got themselves in front with goals from Michael Selfridge and James Brownie. Allan was at his clinical best as Academy completed the turnaround to secure their fifth win in a row in the Highland League and their seventh in eight games.
“That is good form in anyone's book – we just need to keep rolling on,” player/manager Gary Manson said.
It was the fifth time this season Academy had come from behind to win, having also done so against Fort William, Huntly, Clachnacuddin and Turriff United. Indeed it was the second time in less than a week that they had been trailing in a game only to win it 3-2, following the victory at Turriff on Monday.
“We've come from behind in numerous games so I know the boys don't drop their heads – I know they've got the character to come back,” Manson said.
“While I knew that, it was a little bit worrying because our second-half performance was pretty poor.
“In the first half we were good, we created numerous chances, but in the second half I don't know what happened, whether we just came out and maybe thought the game was won or what, but we never got going at all and when they went 2-1 up it was slightly worrying.
“But we know that we can come back.”
Allan's well-taken treble brought his tally for the season to eight.
“Davie always gets plenty of chances because of his sharpness in and around the box and today he was quite clinical,” Manson said. "It was good to see.”
The Wick boss admitted that he could have had no complaints had the match ended in a draw
“The second half wasn't nearly good enough from our point of view,” he said.
“It was kind of a game of two halves. We had the better of the chances in the first half and then Keith had some good chances to score in the second half.
“Maybe a draw would have been a fair result, but at the start of the season we weren't getting the breaks – we were drawing games, or not getting over the line in games, and now it has kind of evened itself out and we're getting the breaks. Long may that continue.”
Sean Campbell, who is not long back from a hamstring problem, suffered a serious-looking ankle injury 10 minutes into the second half and had to be helped off the field.
“We'll need to assess that,” Manson said.
“Sean is a good player and he can play in numerous positions but he is just getting no luck. He had a hamstring injury earlier in the season and now it's an ankle injury. Hopefully it's not too bad.”
