Halikirk's cup dream is over
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INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 1 - 0 HALKIRK UNITED
Scorers – ICT: Whyte (19).
HALKIRK United’s dream cup run came to an end when they were beaten by Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the North of Scotland Cup semi-final on Monday night.
The west of Caithness village outfit didn’t go out without a fight as the players threw everything at their opponents.
Despite having to defend for long periods of the game, United were just as impressive going forward. But they couldn’t find a way into the net, despite going close on several occasions.Halkirk had already pulled off two giant killings by disposing of Highland League sides Wick Academy and Clachnacuddin earlier in the competition.
Hundreds of fans from Halkirk and across the county made their way to Harmsworth Park in Wick in anticipation the team could make it third time lucky.
Manager Jock Mackay is disappointed his side doesn’t have a senior cup final to look forward to.
But he is proud of the performance his team put in during the competition.
"What we’ve proved is that there is more than one decent football team in Caithness," he told the Caithness Courier. "We weren’t offensive enough in the first half as we let them dominate the first 45 minutes. But in the second half we came out and started to create chances.
"I can’t fault my players for the effort they put in and I’m sure it will be a great boost for Caithness football. It was the biggest crowd that the team have ever played in front of and we really appreciate the support that they showed us. It’s just a shame that we couldn’t show that with a win for them."
The only goal of the game came after 19 minutes when Liam Polworth sent through a long ball from midfield which caught the Halkirk defence napping.
Andrew Greig outran Stuart Florence down the right wing to cross the ball into the box and find an unchallenged Kyle Whyte who scored from six yards.
The only chance in the first half for Halkirk came from Nigel MacKenzie, whose cheeky 35-yard attempt from the touchline hit the crossbar.
United changed their formation to a 4-4-2 as lone striker Grant MacNab was joined up front by MacKenzie. The change in tactics proved to make a difference as Caley were forced to hold back after the interval.
The Anglers’ best chance of the game came in the 55th minute when Jack Halliday fed the ball to MacNab.
The striker got the better of two defenders and found himself one-on-one with Edward Baldy, but shot straight into his chest.
At the other end, Graeme Williamson, who was instrumental in his side’s success in the previous rounds, was once again outstanding.
He pulled off a string of spectacular stops, the most notable being a tremendous save to deny Whyte’s 20-yard effort heading straight into the right-hand corner.
Halkirk had one last chance to bring the match to penalties when they won a corner in injury time.
Substitute Paul Mackay out-jumped everyone to get his head to the ball first. But his effort went agonisingly wide.
ICT coach Maurice Malpas said his young side was involved in a tough contest.
"We were pleased about how our boys went about their business to get the win," he said.
"We played attractive, attacking football and the level of fitness was also pleasing from our point of view. Halkirk proved to be a tough side to break down, but we expected that after seeing them beat Clachnacuddin in the previous round.
"We try and win every game we play regardless of opposition. They are a strong, physical side and proved to be a good test for us."
ICT: Baldy, Skinner, Smith, Murphy, Aldred, Polworth, Greig, Laing, Dingwall (Buchan 80), Whyte, Watson. Subs not used: MacKenzie, Christie, Stewart Matheson.
Halkirk United: Williamson, C. Sinclair, Florence, A. Sinclair, Davidson (Mackay 85), Henderson (Bremner 77), Cowie, Halliday, MacNab, Larnach (Sutherland 70), MacKenzie.
Subs not used: Bain, Cook.
