Gray pleased with consistency as Pentland United see off Ness
Co-manager Michael Gray hailed the level of consistency shown by the team so far this season after they secured their place in the Highland Amateur Cup semi-finals.
The Stabbies ran out 2-1 winners over Western Isles outfit Ness in Saturday’s last-eight tie at Culbokie. The Caithness league leaders will return to the Black Isle venue on August 3 to face Stornoway Athletic with a place in the final at stake.
United, record eight-times winners of the Highland Amateur Cup, had also beaten Ness in 2022 – at the semi-final stage on that occasion, 5-2 after extra time.
Gray admitted Saturday’s tie was “not a classic” but said: “The objective at the start of the day was to still be in the competition. We’ve done that.
“Maybe we weren’t at our best, but we’ll take that and we’ll regroup and think about Stornoway in three weeks. Stornoway are top of the Lewis and Harris league so they’re a good side as well.
“Certainly the Ness boys spoke very highly of them and the way that they approach the game, so we’re expecting a tough encounter. They will pose a different challenge.”
The Stabbies have lost only once this summer in all competitions and have already secured one piece of silverware, the Colin Macleod Memorial Cup.
“We’ve been really happy with the consistency level that we’ve managed to produce this year,” Gray said.
“We’ve had a lot of tough games and I think the standard of Caithness football is better than it has been for quite a number of years.
“I think that’s helping, because the players are being challenged all the time. On any given day you’ve got to give your best performance because any team can beat you.
“From our own point of view, since the break our player availability is increasing. At the start of the season we were hamstrung by availability with work and injuries.
“It was a really tough spell, so credit to them for coming through that relatively intact. Now we’re coming into the last third of the season, we’re going to need to make sure that we don’t let anything drop because everybody has got something different to play for in terms of the league, and in the cup competitions everybody wants to win them.
“I believe in taking every game as it comes and trying to win every competition.
“We’re all too well aware that last season we didn’t win a trophy. You want to win every single thing when these opportunities come along.”
Gray considers the county league title to be the main target each season.
“It's a good measure of consistency,” he said. “If you win the league you’ve shown that you’re the most consistent team over the course of the season.
“But we’re not going to prioritise. We’re going to try to challenge for all the remaining trophies and hopefully it’ll be a really good season for us.”
In Saturday’s quarter-final, James Murray gave United an early lead from the penalty spot after Andrew Brims had been pulled down in the box.
Angus Maclennan equalised for Ness just after the half-hour mark with a shot from a tight angle.
The Stabbies regained the lead five minutes into the second half when Sam Mackay headed in from an Innes Mackintosh corner.
“Both teams have changed quite dramatically from that semi-final two years ago,” Gray said. “They were quite open and honest about where they were as a team – they’re in a transitional period at the moment with a few of their younger guys coming through and having lost two of their main players.
“At 1-0 we looked pretty comfortable, we looked in the ascendancy, we had the lion’s share of possession, but I think we kind of stopped a little bit then. We allowed Ness back into the game and they got an equaliser.
“In the second half I thought that we were quite dominant in terms of possession again and had a few near things in terms of balls getting blocked and last-ditch tackles, but not really making the goalkeeper have a save.
“Sam Mackay popped up with a header after a great delivery from Innes Mackintosh from a corner. Sam has got great timing. He’s not a very tall guy but he’s got a fantastic leap.
“We were trying to dictate play and had quite a lot of territory but our final ball just didn’t seem to be on point. It wasn’t a very fluent performance from us but credit to Ness, they were well organised at the back and they were prepared to throw their bodies on the line regularly to make sure that there were no clear-cut opportunities being given to us.”
High Ormlie Hotspur will face Avoch in the other semi-final.
Results – Steven Cup, quarter-finals, first leg: Acks 2, Top Joe’s 1; Halkirk 1, Swifts 1; Watten 3, Keiss 3.
Highland Amateur Cup, quarter-finals: High Ormlie Hotspur 3, Black Rock Rovers 1; Pentland United 2, Ness 1; Sleat and Strath 2, Avoch 3; Stornoway Athletic 4, Helmsdale United 0.
Fixtures – Monday, July 15 – Steven Cup, quarter-finals, second leg: Keiss v Watten; Swifts v Halkirk; Top Joe’s v Acks.
Tuesday, July 16 – CAFA Division One: Lybster v Castletown; Wick Groats v John O’Groats (both 7.30pm).
Wednesday, July 17 – CAFA Division One: Pentland United v Staxigoe United; Wick Thistle v High Ormlie Hotspur (both 7.30pm).