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McKenna full of praise for his defensive heroes as Academy win at North Lodge Park


By Matt Leslie

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Wick Academy skipper Alan Farquhar launches himself at full stretch to thwart Formartine's Scott Lisle. The Scorries would go on to win 2-1 – their first victory since November 2. Picture: Mel Roger
Wick Academy skipper Alan Farquhar launches himself at full stretch to thwart Formartine's Scott Lisle. The Scorries would go on to win 2-1 – their first victory since November 2. Picture: Mel Roger

Wick Academy boss Tom McKenna hailed the "best defensive effort" he has seen during his two years at the club following Saturday's 2-1 win at Formartine United.

Goals from Ryan Campbell and Gordon MacNab, either side of an equaliser from Conor Gethins, gave the Scorries their first win since the beginning of November.

The result was a much-needed boost for both manager and club and it was no coincidence that it arrived with McKenna being able to call upon a full substitutes' bench.

Injury worries still persist at Harmsworth Park but the number of walking wounded had decreased enough for a full squad to travel down to Pitmedden.

A heroic rearguard effort was required for the Scorries to pull off the victory – a repeat of the result on Academy's last visit to North Lodge Park, in 2018.

McKenna said: "I'll be honest and say that in terms of possession Formartine had the better of the game.

"Were we lucky? Well, as we all know, there are two sides to football – attack and defence, and we certainly excelled in the latter.

"We defended brilliantly and that has to be the best defensive effort I've seen our team put in since I took charge. They were superb.

"Someone can point to possession and territory and how much time Formartine spent in our half. I can point to the one statistic that matters – the final score.

"The communication among the back four was outstanding and the discipline was superb.

"We were under a lot of pressure at times but the organisation of our defence was fantastic and they gave us a great platform to play on the counter-attack and get those two goals."

Wick's Danny Mackay was praised by manager Tom McKenna for his heroics in the centre of defence. Picture: Mel Roger
Wick's Danny Mackay was praised by manager Tom McKenna for his heroics in the centre of defence. Picture: Mel Roger

One stand-out from the backs-to-the-wall effort was Danny Mackay.

McKenna added: "We put Danny in the centre of defence and he slotted in very well.

"He has already established a good rapport with Alan Farquhar and that helped as he fitted in and worked well alongside Alan.

"Danny is a good, honest player who is also strong and brave and he brings a one hundred per cent effort every time he steps out onto the park.

"Alan as always played well at the heart of the defence, as did Colin Macrae and Gary Manson in the full-back roles."

Defensive heroics aside, Academy still needed to put the ball into the net at the other end to bag a win that lifts them to 10th in the Highland League table.

Campbell and MacNab did just that and McKenna was delighted to see how the former's goal was created.

He said: "We know full well that creating and converting chances have been an issue for us recently.

"Given that our attacking players are not blessed with height, we've been working on our low crosses into the box to give the strikers a better chance of getting in a shot on goal.

"Sure enough, that's how our first goal came about. Davie Allan made a good run down the flank and he drilled in a low ball that fell nicely to Ryan and he put it away.

"Hopefully this gives us something to build on and I can tell you the bus journey back home was a lot happier than it has been these last few weeks."

Ryan Campbell fires the ball past Formartine keeper Kevin Main to open the scoring for Wick Academy during their 2-1 win. Picture: Mel Rogers
Ryan Campbell fires the ball past Formartine keeper Kevin Main to open the scoring for Wick Academy during their 2-1 win. Picture: Mel Rogers

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