Pentland United see off 10-man Wick Groats in Eain Mackintosh Cup final
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Pentland United collected their second piece of silverware this summer with a 3-1 victory over Wick Groats in the Eain Mackintosh Cup final – four days after losing 5-1 to the same opponents in a top-of-the-table clash in the county league.
The Stabbies' management team got the reaction they were looking for in front of a bumper crowd at Halkirk's Recreation Park on Saturday with two goals from man-of-the-match Andy Mackay – including a first-minute penalty – and a third from Marc Macgregor.
Groats equalised in the first half through Alan Mathieson but they had to play with 10 men for just over an hour after Grant MacNab was sent off following a brief flare-up with Mackay. Groats were furious about the decision.
United co-manager Michael Gray said: "We talked to them before the game about a reset and making sure they were focused on the game. You can't look back, you can only look forward. Nobody can rewrite history, so there was nothing we could do about Tuesday.
"Today I was very proud of them. They started on the front foot, they had two or three really good chances even after going 1-0 up, and then Groats got a goal back – it was well worked, we can't complain about it.
"Then there was the red card. Sometimes that can work for you, sometimes it works against you, and to be fair to Wick Groats I would commend them for the way that they played with 10 men.
"But I thought the longer the game went on we started picking better options.
"It was a cup final, it was fast, it was furious, and it sometimes takes a little bit of guile. I thought for the second and third goals we showed tremendous composure."
The Stabbies got off to a perfect start when Mackay scored from the spot after he had been fouled in the box.
Groats got themselves level on 24 minutes when Jonah Martens played the ball across from the left to Mathieson, whose first-time shot flew past James More in the United goal.
Four minutes later came the flashpoint that brought a red card for MacNab.
United restored their lead on 66 minutes when Macgregor attacked up the right and swung the ball across to the far post where Mackay was arriving to knock it in.
Substitutes James Murray and Owen Bain – the latter only 14 years old – linked up to create United's third goal in stoppage time. Murray back-heeled it to Bain, and his pass gave Macgregor the opportunity to score with a low drive.
Brothers Murray and Innes Mackintosh and their cousin Conor Trueman accepted the trophy from their grandmother Mary Mackintosh on behalf of their Pentland United team-mates.
Gray added: "I was very emotional, to be honest, when I saw the three guys going up to see their granny like that. It has been a long time coming for her, trying to get her grandsons to win the trophy, and it was quite special seeing it.
"That's what it's all about. It is a memorial cup. In Eain's case, unfortunately, he lost his life and it is in memory of him, so it's pretty important that we always keep going back and reflecting on that."
Two-goal hero Andy Mackay admitted that he had endured a sleepless night after United's 5-1 midweek loss to Groats.
He was delighted to have helped the Stabbies bounce back and pick up their second trophy this season, having already won the Colin Macleod Memorial Cup last month.
The 24-year-old from Thurso said: "It's what we're here to do – we're here to win.
"I had a sleepless night on Tuesday. You've got to react – it's the best way to get over it."
Wick Groats manager Kevin Anderson said he felt "cheated" over the first-half incident that resulted in a red card for Grant MacNab in Saturday's Eain Mackintosh Cup final, but insisted his team had nothing to be ashamed of after playing with 10 men for more than an hour.
MacNab got his marching orders on 28 minutes after tangling with Pentland United's Andy Mackay in the middle of the park.
"I felt cheated by the decision to send off one player and not two," Anderson said. "If one went, they both had to go, because Andy was on a yellow.
"Okay, Grant's maybe was a red, but I felt they should have been down to 10 men as well. If both teams were down to 10 we couldn't have complained.
"But I was proud of their performance – we still created chances. On another day, if we'd taken one, who knows what would have happened?
"It was a really well-worked goal, Alan took it well. We battled on to the end and there's plenty to play for still.
"We'll obviously now dust ourselves down and concentrate on the league, the David Allan Shield and the Highland Amateur Cup.
"We have nothing at all to be ashamed of there today – I thought we more than matched them for long spells after going down to 10 men, but it changed the game, and I did say that to the officials. It was a big mistake for me – either both of them off or none of them."
Results – Division One: John O'Groats 1, Staxigoe United 3. Steven Cup, quarter-final, second leg: Castletown 8, Top Joe's 0 (Castletown win 16-1 on aggregate).
Eain Mackintosh Cup final: Pentland United 3, Wick Groats 1.
Fixtures – Monday – Division One: High Ormlie Hotspur v Acks; John O'Groats v Pentland United; Wick Thistle v Staxigoe United (7.15pm). Steven Cup, semi-final, first leg: Castletown v Swifts (7pm).
Tuesday – Division One: Wick Groats v Lybster (7.15pm).
Thursday – Steven Cup, semi-final, first leg: Thurso Pentland v Keiss (7pm). David Allan Shield, quarter-final: Wick Thistle v Pentland United (7pm).
Friday – David Allan Shield, quarter-finals: Castletown v John O'Groats; Lybster v Acks; Staxigoe United v Wick Groats (7pm).
