Pentland United co-manager Michael Gray hails defensive showing after 3-1 win over Wick Groats
Pentland United joint-boss Michael Gray has warned that it’s “early days” after his side took the spoils in this season’s first clash with Wick Groats at Ham Park last night.
The defending champions made it three wins from three with a 3-1 victory to extend their lead at the top of the Caithness AFA Division One league table to three points – and a full five points ahead of Groats and Staxigoe United.
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Despite the win, Gray is calling on his squad to come “up to speed” as he anticipates a demanding summer schedule.
“Looking forward it’s still very early days in the season and large elements of our group are still getting back up to speed after the winter layoff.
“We don’t have as many players involved through the winter anymore, and that’s maybe shown in some rustiness in our earlier games.
“We’re starting to move into a more congested period now and that’s going to place a greater demand on players.
“We’ll have to be careful how we look after them, their fitness and health.
“The more we play, the more we’ll find that rhythm we’re looking for.”
The first half ended goalless with few clear-cut chances to speak of for either side.
The hosts had started the stronger and threatened from set pieces, but Groats defended well.
But it was the Wick side who started the second half brighter and they took the lead around the 65th minute – Alan Mathieson reacting quickest to connect with a loose ball in the box and find the net from eight yards.
The advantage did not last long, however, with the Stabbies hitting back five minutes later through another set piece.
Innes Mackintosh was the creator, whipping a ball in from the right hand side for Sam Mackay who arrived at the far post to level.
The home side then pushed on and took control.
Conor Cormack cut inside on to his right foot to deliver a ball for Mackay to force a save from Kieran Macleod.
But the Groats stopper could do nothing to prevent Sean Munro from steering the ball home from a tight angle.
United added a third just minutes after.
Striker James Murray showed his strength down the left before setting up Munro, who netted his second to make it 3-1.
Speaking after the game, Michael Gray hailed his side’s defensive showing.
“We started quite brightly and seemed to get the upper hand through early pressure,” said Gray. “But it’s probably been a similar case to recent weeks – our final ball from open play has lacked a bit of quality and composure, and we didn’t quite pick out the right options.
“This allowed Groats back into the game and a bit of a midfield battle. We took a bit of time to settle, but we did it eventually and it became a fairly balanced game throughout.
“I think we defended quite well. Having James More back in goals was a huge boost to our back line and the Steven brothers at the back are two commanding units who give us the platform to build on.
“If we just showed a bit more composure in our attacks, it would pay dividend.
Although frustrated by the result and his side’s “poor start” to the campaign, Groats manager Kevin Anderson expects there to be more points dropped by teams in the league this season – and plenty still to play for.
“It was extremely frustrating as we’ve gone a goal up and within 10 mins we’re 3-1 down,” said Anderson. “We changed it up a bit and pushed and probed to no avail for the last 10 mins.
“I didn’t think we deserved to come away with nothing from the game to be honest, but that’s football. We know we need to be better, and we can be.
“We need to put a run together in the league and see where that takes us. There’s lots of good teams in the league this season, so I’d expect there will be lots of dropped points.
“It’s been a poor start by us no doubts about it, but there’s still plenty time to put that right.”
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