Caithness United under-16s wear down Dingwall in youth league opener
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A relentless display in the final period by Caithness United's under-16s saw them rack up a 6-0 victory over Dingwall in their first match of the Highland Youth Development League.
United dominated Sunday's game at the Upper Bignold Park in Wick and the most surprising aspect was that it was only 1-0 when the teams went back onto the pitch to play the last 30-minute third.
That was due in part to the fine form of the Dingwall goalkeeper, Ryan Ross, who had blocked several shots on goal and gathered up dangerous crosses into his box, and to a lack of penetrative play in the final third by the home side.
However, in the final 30 minutes Caithness found their rhythm and picked off their opponents. The possession football from Caithness wore their opponents down as Dingwall found themselves pushed deeper and deeper into their own half.
Morgan Kennedy got three of the goals, with the others coming from Scott Durrand, Matthew Aitkenhead and Matthew Mackay.
Caithness coach Ross Sutherland was pleased with the performance.
“It was a relatively comfortable afternoon where our defence marshalled the game really well, resulting in Dingwall having zero attempts on goal," he said.
"All the lads stuck to the task of playing out from the back, which was pleasing. Our dominance provided us with several scoring opportunities, more so in the latter third of the contest.
"This proved a good starting point for us coaches to gauge where the squad are at. We felt that for most of the match the team were playing a little bit safe, especially in the final third of the pitch.
"However, we will work on developing that phase of play in training, and hopefully bring that to our upcoming fixtures.
"Having said all that, we did score six goals and we played some lovely football at times too, so we can’t complain too much. I’m also very happy for Morgan Kennedy who was lively when he came on and managed to bag a hat-trick.”
