Praise for Wick’s defensive game
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ONE point apiece is a "fair result", according to Wick Academy manager Davie Kirkwood after his side put in a "brilliant" performance to hold off Cove Rangers until the dying stages of the game.
Most of Saturday’s action at Harmsworth Park took place after half-time in the midst of thick fog.
Kirkwood said through the haar in the second half the Scorries played "probably the best defensive game of all season" when they held a 1-0 lead for 19 minutes.
"We defended the crosses, we won second balls, we were counterattacking, we got a great goal from Davie Allan and it’s just unfortunate that the rebound has landed to their player who has knocked it in," he said.
"We knew Cove were going to come up here and try and win the game but we limited them to one chance in the first half and a couple at the end. But for the amount of balls that they were throwing forward I thought we defended brilliantly. A point is a fair result."
The result puts a dent in Cove’s hope for wrestling the league title off Forres Mechanics and should put a spring in Academy’s step.
"Ideally, you want three points with every home game that you play but when you have a team coming up here who are competing for the title that’s never going to be easy," said Kirkwood.
"We want to win every game but I think overall I’m happier this week as the boys kept their shape and in the main defended well. It was an overall team performance."
Although Sam Mackay sat the game out due to suspension, a draft of returning players such as Stewart Ross and Craig Shearer helped the team come together and meant Richard Macadie had a chance to shine on his 200th appearance.
This strong teamworking ethic needs to be kept going until the end of the season, said Kirkwood.
"We shouldn’t be relying on one or two key players to win us games," he said. "We are a team and together we can score from all over the park. Saying that, we always knew it was going to be under the cosh for this one as we knew Cove were gunning for us."
At the trigger of that gun was Cove manager Kevin Tindal. He was in a positive frame of mind after the match, despite going home two points short of his target.
"We expected it to be tough but I think going on recent years that’s probably the best we’ve been up here," he said.
"But I think we probably deserved more. However, coming away from Wick with a point is definitely a positive for us."
Tindal was more than happy with the chances his squad created and praised both sides for a quality game.
Tindal now has his eyes on the title with just six games left to decide the Highland League’s fate.
"We look forward to the final six now and hopefully we can keep the pressure on up top," he said.
"As it has been for most of the season, the title remains up to Forres. We just hope they slip up in the last few games and we will be ready to pounce."
Academy face their last away league game this weekend against Inverurie Locos
