Clach went through us like a knife through butter, admits Wick boss Manson
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Manager Gary Manson was left stunned at the way Wick Academy found themselves 3-0 down inside 23 minutes as Clachnacuddin dumped them out of the North of Scotland Cup.
The Scorries were left shellshocked on Wednesday night after a first-half blitz saw the Lilywhites kill the tie off within the first quarter to secure a semi-final clash at Rothes.
Manson said that after two wins in their last three matches, including two clean sheets, he didn't expect such a poor defensive showing.
“I never saw it coming, 23 minutes in and being 3-0 down,” he said.
“I said to the players at half-time we were so far wide open, the gaps between our back four, you could drive a bus through them. They were cutting us open and sliding passes between our centre-backs.
“Their full-backs were killing us and that is where their goals came from.
“Once you give them a three-goal head start, it is really hard to recover from that.”
He added: “We had two clean sheets and two wins from our last three games. We were looking solid and robust in those games, but they went through us like a knife through butter."
Manson was pleased with the players' response in the second half but admitted that by that stage it was too late.
“It shouldn’t have to take us to go 3-0 down and get a roasting at half-time to buck our ideas up and defend," he said.
“Clach took their foot off the gas in the second half, but I like to think that we raised our game as well.
“While there are not a lot of pleasing factors, the result was disappointing.”
Clach's opener came after nine minutes when James Anderson fired a low drive past Graeme Williamson.
The home side doubled their advantage seven minutes later when a cross from the right found Lewis Mackenzie in the box and he composed himself before firing it in.
The Lilywhites added a third after 23 minutes when Martin Callum played the ball through to Connor Bunce, who netted from 10 yards.
Academy will look to bounce back from their midweek disappointment when they head to Lossiemouth in the Highland League this weekend.
Jack Henry was sent off at Grant Street Park on Wednesday and his suspension could start tomorrow.
There are fitness concerns over Richard Macadie, who picked up a hamstring injury. Sean Campbell suffered a head injury and Jack Halliday was said to be struggling towards the end of the game with a tight hamstring.
“We need to dust ourselves for Lossiemouth,” Manson said. “We need to play a lot better."
Rothes defeated Elgin City 3-2. Brora Rangers cruised to a 4-0 win over Strathspey Thistle and their semi-final opponents will be Lossiemouth, who beat Forres Mechanics 2-0 at Mosset Park.
Highland League fixtures for Saturday: Banks O' Dee v Keith; Brechin City v Buckie Thistle; Clachnacuddin v Turriff United; Forres Mechanics v Huntly; Inverurie Locos v Formartine; Lossiemouth v Wick Academy; Nairn County v Deveronvale; Rothes v Brora; Strathspey Thistle v Fraserburgh.
