Game time is the priority as Gunn double helps Academy to friendly win at Halkirk
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Wick Academy manager Gary Manson said he got exactly what he wanted out of Thursday night's friendly against Halkirk United as the Scorries continued their preparations for the new Highland League season.
The behind-closed-doors game at Morrison Park was the first outing for both sides since football was halted in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, with Manson and his Halkirk counterpart Ewan McElroy agreeing that it had been a very useful exercise.
Academy returned to training recently and this was their first friendly ahead of the shortened 2020/21 Highland League season, scheduled to start on October 17. Strict protocols and hygiene measures were in place, including temperature checks.
The match ended in a 4-2 win for Academy, but the priority for Manson was getting some game time for his squad.
“It has been a long time coming – it has been over six months since our last game," he said. "It's a long time without actually being on a football pitch.
“You can train as much as you want, and we've had five sessions so far, but you can't really replicate an actual game, so it was good for the boys.
“I said before the start that I wasn't expect any miracles – it was fully expected that they were going to be rusty, their touch would be off, their passing would be off, and so on. But it went exactly the way I expected it to go.
“It was a lovely night for it and the pitch was in good condition. I got exactly what I wanted out of it, which was hard work and just getting them back going again.
“I had two different elevens, pretty much – so it was more or less a team for the first half and a team for the second half.
“I told them it wasn't about the performance, I wasn't really bothered about how well they played. It was just about getting minutes in their legs, so I wanted to share those minutes out. Roughly 45 minutes each per person was all I wanted to get out of it.”
October 17 is also the scheduled start date for the North Caledonian League, although Halkirk United have no fixture on the opening weekend. The Anglers are in the first division of the two-tier league for 2020/21.
"It was brilliant to get back out on Morrison Park," manager McElroy said. "The surface was looking fantastic and I think both teams were itching to get back playing again.
"In terms of the match, I was absolutely delighted with the effort and commitment from the boys, especially up against a strong Highland League side.
"We more than matched Wick in the first half, played some lovely football and were unlucky on a couple occasions not to add to our tally.
"Fatigue and the sheer number of subs used slowed the game down a little in the second half. Despite Wick being the better team in the second half we continued to battle well and create chances, and the boys worked tirelessly for the full 90 minutes."
Craig Gunn struck twice for Academy. The first came after Gordon MacNab performed a quick turn in midfield and slipped in Gunn to round the keeper and place the ball in the empty net.
Gunn's second was a free kick from about 25 yards which dipped over the defensive wall and into the corner.
Mark Macadie added Wick's third, getting on the end of a cutback across the face of goal after good work down the right by Alan Hughes and Davie Allan.
Their fourth came when Allan worked a couple of yards for himself in the box and sent a right-foot shot into the bottom corner.
Kyle Henderson scored Halkirk's first, finding the net with a curling right-foot finish after some neat build-up play, and Adam Gunn netted from close range after a scramble in the box.
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