Bus trip blamed for Scorries' slow start
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
ON the Buses may have been a popular comedy show in its day but there was no laughing matter about Wick Academy’s trip to Cumbernauld.
The Scorries were edged out 3-2 in their final pre-season match by Lowland League aces Cumbernauld Colts, despite a stirring second-half comeback.
That came after their hosts went 3-0 up inside the first 35 minutes. Colts’ first came when Fraser Team clinically finished from six yards out.
Colts’ second arrived when Sean Brown burst clear to coolly slot in, with the third coming via Craig Holmes’ audacious chip from 35 yards that caught keeper Sean McCarthy napping and went in off the underside of the bar.
Academy hit back with Davie Allan latching on to Marc MacGregor’s cutback on the stroke of half-time, with Craig Gunn pouncing from close range five minutes after the interval to further reduce the deficit.
However, despite a prolonged amount of pressure, including a last-minute gilt-edged chance squandered by Gordie MacNab, Wick were unable to complete the comeback.
The slow start did not help the Scorries’ cause but, as boss Tom McKenna revealed, the damage was done on the bus journey down.
He said: “Some of the lads did say at half time that they were still on the bus. They said they felt leggy and had looked it as well.
“We left Wick at 6am, and a journey of that length and time clearly took it out of the players.
“Also, the boys would have been up an hour or two beforehand to get themselves ready to catch the bus. That means that come kick-off they’d been up and about for 10 or 11 hours and had spent most of it sitting on a bus.
“Had this been a Scottish Cup tie we would probably have got the lads down south the night before so they could rest and be more energised the following morning.
“As for the game itself, yes, it was a friendly but you want to win no matter the fixture. We got off to a poor start and made a change to our formation at half time.
“We went from 4-4-2 to 4-1-4-1 as Colts were very narrow and compact with their formation which was giving us a lot of problems.
“We got the second and we put them under pressure. Gordie missed his chance late on and I think the draw would have been a fair result had that gone in.”
The trip was also designed to foster some team spirit as the squad went on a bonding session in Glasgow after the game.
McKenna added: “I don’t know how that went but no-one’s phoned me to say any of the lads have police records. It was good for them to have some time off the pitch together and hopefully they enjoyed themselves.
“Special mention too for Wick’s own ‘Barmy Army’ [diehard Scorries fan Alan Oakton] who did his bit to get some atmosphere going – including getting the Colts coach to sing along to one of his songs.”
