Rain-soaked ground poses threat to Scorries game
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RAIN could put out the fighting spark in Wick Academy’s first game of 2012.
Heavy showers over the past week have caused surface water to build up at Harmsworth Park where the Scorries are due to take on Rothes tomorrow afternoon.
Club secretary Alan Farquhar told the John O’Groat Journal earlier in the week that there will be a pitch inspection either tonight or early tomorrow morning but that he is “very doubtful” the fixture will go ahead.
“I was at the park on Tuesday and a lot of surface water had started developing there,” said Mr Farquhar. “By Wednesday it was even greater and I think it is looking very doubtful. It would take a big improvement in the weather in order for the club to have a chance of getting the game to go ahead.”
However, he said a call-off would be the last possible option.
He added that the last thing Academy want to do is postpone too early when there is still a chance of getting a game played. “We want to give ourselves every opportunity,” he said. “It’s okay for teams down the line who can reschedule midweek games but unfortunately a lot of our games can’t be played midweek due to the 110-mile travelling rule.
“We have to try and get the games played on a Saturday as often as we can.”
Academy manager Davie Kirkwood knows this all too well. He has remained adamant in recent weeks that it is lower league teams which have already taken a win from Wick this season that are to be targeted next.
With Rothes taking three points away from the Scorries at the end of August, the Speysiders are a prime example and he does not want to lose that chance at retribution. “I’m not saying the last game against Rothes was an injustice but that was a part of the season where we had so many chances that we should have been putting the games away – that was one where we didn’t,” said Kirkwood.
“That’s why I’m hoping the boys will have learned from that and create the same chances and take them.”
He added: “The cutting edge was there, it was just chances we missed; we just never got the ball in the back of the net.”
If the game was to go ahead he is “pretty sure we will rectify that this weekend”.
Kirkwood wants support in his corner for the fixture and is calling on local fans to rally around should the game be given the green light. “The fans should come out and expect to see us doing what we do best which is going for the win,” he said.
“We need their support and their help through the committee and club.”
With Grant Steven back in full fitness and Martin Gunn and James More both expected to be back to full health soon following long-term injuries there is only really one thing that can put a halt to Kirkwood’s knockout ambition – the weather.
Meanwhile, Rothes boss Graham McBeath is feeling upbeat despite the recent weather postponing three of his matches in December. “We’ve had a big improvement on last year in terms of points at this stage of the season,” said McBeath. “We’ve taken in a number of new faces and they’ve gelled well, and I’m quite satisfied with the progress we’ve been making. We’ve had our ups and downs but all in all with a young squad we’ve got to be happy.”
McBeath said he had no New Year’s resolutions for his squad other than keeping the current form going.
“We’d like to score more goals and concede less,” he admitted. “If that’s a target then that’s all we have really said to the players. We’ve got a decent record up against Wick both at home and away so hopefully that will continue.”
He cites their win against the Scorries in August as a lucky escape after “grinding out” the result. “We had to play really hard to get that result,” he said. “Wick are one of the better footballing sides I’ve seen this season and that will make our job harder on Saturday. But my lads will take some confidence from having already taken three points against them.”
Due to last Friday night’s game against Strathspey being called off McBeath has a fully fit and suspension-free team to pick from.
