Barclay and Mathieson on target as young Scorries see off Buckie
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Wick Academy's under-17s were not at their best but they did enough to see off Buckie Thistle at the Upper Bignold on Sunday.
Sam Barclay and Alan Mathieson got the goals in a 2-1 win to keep to keep their SHFL Under-17 North title hopes alive, although there was a setback when Mathieson had to go off injured.
Wick took the lead after 20 minutes when Barclay was first to react to a loose ball after the Buckie goalkeeper had pulled off a good save.
Buckie levelled five minutes later after winning the ball on the halfway line and the home side were caught short at the back after committing players forward.
Twenty minutes from time the young Scorries had their best moment of the match where they managed to move the ball from right side of the pitch to the left, finding Mathieson in space. He took one touch to control the ball and a second to place it past the keeper into the far corner of the net with a side-footed finish.
U17 coach Liam Anderson said: "This was far from one of our better performances this season but the most important thing was to get the three points as we are in with a chance of winning the league.
"We had two or three good chances in the first half that the boys failed take advantage of, but sometimes you get games like this. We have had a bad three weeks with injuries and were missing four or five boys, so credit to the lads who came in and helped keep our undefeated run this season.
"Unfortunately the injury list grew with Alan Mathieson having to come off and be checked out at the hospital after he scored the winner, having been on the receiving end of a bad tackle. We would like to wish him a speedy recovery."
The young Scorries' next game is this Friday away to Lossiemouth, followed by a home game on the Sunday to Fort William.
