‘Cheap goals’ make the difference as Brechin City end Wick Academy’s unbeaten home run
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Manager Gary Manson was left to reflect on the loss of two "cheap" goals as Wick Academy's six-game unbeaten home run in the Highland League was brought to an end by leaders Brechin City.
The reigning champions moved six points clear at the top of the table after their hard-fought 2-1 victory at Harmsworth Park on Saturday.
“I'm pretty sure if you ask their boys they'll know they were in a tough game,” Manson said.
Brechin opened the scoring on 18 minutes with a speculative shot from the edge of the box by Grady McGrath which evaded the grasp of Graeme Williamson at the base of his left post. The striker hit it early and, unfortunately for the Wick keeper, the ball seemed to take an awkward bounce in front of him.
Academy kept working hard and grabbed a well-deserved equaliser after 28 minutes when Kyle Henderson received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, swivelled and struck it beyond the diving Lenny Wilson at his left post. The goalie got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.
Academy were holding their own in the second half without having many opportunities to get up the park.
However, two of Brechin's substitutes combined to create the winner on 71 minutes. Matthew Wright delivered a deep cross from the left that was nodded in at close range by the unmarked Craig Tosh.
Manson said: “I think they struggled to adapt to the pitch conditions in the first half. They were trying passes that they probably shouldn't have tried on that pitch.
“We know what to expect. Our pitch won't be the only one as bobbly as that at this time of the year in the Highland League.
"I thought we had the better of the first half. There was a slight breeze going down the hill which was probably a factor in the game, but in the second half we never really got going.
"We spoke about it at half-time – we knew Brechin were going to come out and throw everything at us.
“Maybe we sat back a little bit too deep, I don't know what it was, but we never really got going in the second half. We had a couple of breakaways but nothing major.
"I was just kind of hoping that we could see the game out and take the draw, but it wasn't to be.
“There was a cheap goal at the back post [for the winner] and the first goal was a bit cheap as well, to be honest.
“Graeme is normally as steady as a rock. It was an uncharacteristic mistake, but that's the life of a goalkeeper – if you make a mistake, more often than not it ends up in the net.
“They were two cheapish goals to give away, but they know they were in a game. It was a hard-fought contest.
“When you're up against the top teams you have to roll your sleeves up and dig in and everyone has to play their part.
“I thought we did that in spades, certainly in the first half. The crowd behind me in the stand were certainly up for it as well. The first half was really enjoyable to watch.”
Academy now have a midweek trip to take on Forres Mechanics. The Scorries ran out 3-2 winners when the sides met in Wick in October thanks to a Gordon MacNab hat-trick.
Manson said: “Obviously Wednesday night has its own challenges for us to overcome, boys getting off work and all that sort of thing. But we'll go down there and hopefully come back with some points.
“There were a couple of niggles and knocks today, so we'll need to see how they are for Wednesday. We'll see what we can do.”
Brechin City manager Gavin Price admitted the Highland League leaders had to dig deep to come away from Harmsworth Park with three points.
Speaking after the Hedgemen's 2-1 win against Wick Academy on Saturday, Price said: “Wick had gone a long time without losing a game here. They'd been undefeated at home for a good few months.
“We knew it was going to be a hard task and so it proved. I thought we dominated the second half, certainly, but we couldn't see the goals coming.
“We got a bit of quality from two of the substitutes that came on to get that goal which was vital.
“It's job done. We didn't play particularly well but it was quite difficult conditions. Every game is difficult just now.
“We were trying to overplay a bit in the first half which resulted in them eventually getting the equaliser. That was poor from our point of view after going ahead.
“But in the second half the boys dug deep and got the three points that we needed to get."
Brechin are six points clear of second-placed Fraserburgh with four games to go. Academy remain 13th.
Brora Rangers were celebrating on Saturday after beating Fraserburgh in a Highland League Cup final shootout.
Brora won 5-4 on penalties after the final in Inverurie finished level at 1-1. Scott Barbour put the Broch ahead just before the half-hour mark, only for Brora’s Tom Kelly to equalise early in the second half.
Buckie Thistle, having beaten Brechin in midweek, suffered a setback in their title bid for the second Saturday in a row as they were held to a goalless draw by Deveronvale in Banff.
Keith extended their unbeaten run to 10 games with a 1-0 home victory over Huntly thanks to a goal by Gavin Elphinstone early in the second half.
Connor Bunce scored the only goal in Clachnacuddin's surprise 1-0 win against Banks O' Dee at Grant Street Park.
Meanwhile, Wick Academy’s season will continue into May after a number of outstanding league fixtures were announced.
The Scorries are at home to Banks O’ Dee on Saturday, April 20; away to Keith on Saturday, April 27; and away to Formartine United on Saturday, May 4.
Results – Highland League: Clachnacuddin 1, Banks O' Dee 0; Deveronvale 0, Buckie Thistle 0; Forres Mechanics 0, Formartine United 4; Keith 1, Huntly 0; Strathspey Thistle 0, Nairn County 4; Turriff United 0, Lossiemouth 0; Wick Academy 1, Brechin City 2.
Highland League Cup final: Brora Rangers 1, Fraserburgh 1 (Brora won 5-4 on penalties).
Highland League fixtures – Wednesday, April 3: Brora Rangers v Deveronvale; Buckie Thistle v Strathspey Thistle; Forres Mechanics v Wick Academy; Keith v Brechin City (all 8pm).
Saturday, April 6: Banks O' Dee v Huntly; Brora Rangers v Wick Academy; Clachnacuddin v Lossiemouth; Deveronvale v Inverurie Locos; Fraserburgh v Brechin City; Keith v Buckie Thistle; Nairn County v Formartine United; Rothes v Forres Mechanics; Turriff United v v Strathspey Thistle.
