Damage was done in first half, says Wick Thistle manager after Highland Amateur Cup exit
Manager Owen Harrold admitted Wick Thistle ran out of ideas as they were knocked out of the Highland Amateur Cup by Sleat and Strath.
The Skye side won 2-1 in Saturday's second-round tie at a sunny Upper Bignold Park after a first-half double by striker Josh Knowles.
Thistle’s Colin Henstridge had a penalty saved when it was 1-0, then Joshua Hughes reduced the deficit with a neat head-flick in the second period, but ultimately the Jags fell just short.
Harrold said: “The damage was done in the first half. When you’re playing against teams that are travelling a long distance it’s important that you start fast and put them under pressure.
“We did the complete opposite. Everything we talked about beforehand just went clean of out the window.
“We we were chasing our tails and then we conceded such a sloppy goal – a cross came in and the boy was free at the back post. The second goal was exactly the same, we just switched off.
“When you start to grow into the game you need to take your chances. We had a couple of chances, and obviously the penalty.
“That was maybe a turning point in the game, to be quite honest. If we’d scored that, our tails would have been up.
“In the second half we started playing a little bit of football, and we got the goal, but to be quite honest we didn’t do quite enough to get it back to 2-2. We kind of ran out of ideas.
“They are a good team. They’ve got some good players. The number nine who scored the two goals, he caused us a lot of problems.
“You’ve then got to take responsibility and it’s not quite working in those terms. Somebody needs to step up and be a leader, because we’ve lost a lot of guys.”
There was also a second-round exit for Halkirk, who lost 3-1 to Stornoway Athletic. The Caithness side felt hard done by having to travel all the way to neutral Ullapool – at considerable expense – for what was technically a home tie.
On top of that, Halkirk were short of a few players who were unwilling to play on the 3G pitch that hosted the tie.
Player/co-manager Michael Bremner was left wondering whether any team had ever been asked to travel so far for a “home” game.
Ally Mackintosh got the Halkirk goal, and he also hit a post and the bar. Stornoway Athletic’s scorers were Aaron Macleod, Luke Morrison and Jude Glover.
“It was an even game,” Bremner said. “They were a good young team that liked to play football. It was just a bit of fitness that let us down.
“We were struggling with 10 minutes to go when they went 2-1 up, and they got the third with the last kick of the game when we were pushing.”
Bremner added: “The trip home was great. That’s two good trips we’ve had that have helped the squad gel together, so that’s a bonus.”
Results – CAFA Division One: John O’Groats 0, Staxigoe United 1. Division Two: Keiss 2, Acks 3.
Highland Amateur Cup, second round (ties involving Caithness clubs): Fort William 1, Wick Groats 6; Halkirk 1, Stornoway Athletic 3 (in Ullapool); Kirkwall Thorfinn 1, High Ormlie Hotspur 2; Lerwick Thistle 4, Lybster 5; Pentland United 11, North Isles 0; Wick Thistle 1, Sleat and Strath 2.
Fixtures – Tuesday, June 4 – Eain Mackintosh Cup, quarter-finals: Acks v Staxigoe United; Pentland United v High Ormlie Hotspur. First round (rearranged): Top Joe’s v Halkirk (all 7.15pm).
Thursday, June 6 – Eain Mackintosh Cup, quarter-final: Swifts v Lybster (7.15pm).
Friday, June 7 – CAFA Division One: High Ormlie Hotspur v Castletown; Wick Thistle v Staxigoe United (both 7.30pm).
Eain Mackintosh Cup, quarter-final: Top Joe’s or Halkirk v Watten (7.15pm).
Saturday, June 8 – Colin Macleod Memorial Cup final: Pentland United v Wick Groats (at Castletown, 3pm).
Highland Amateur Cup third-round draw (ties to be played on Saturday, June 29): Black Rock v Culbokie; High Ormlie Hotspur v Wick Groats; Maryburgh v Avoch; Pentland United v Lybster; Rendall v Ness; Stornoway Athletic v Inverness Athletic; Stromness Athletic v Helmsdale United; Tomatin United v Sleat and Strath.
