Ruthless Brora bounce Scorries out of the cup
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Defensive errors proved costly for Wick Academy as they went crashing out of the North of Scotland Cup after a 6-0 hammering at Brora on Wednesday night.
Admittedly, the Scorries were unlucky with Brora's first goal. Jordan Macrae's shot from outside the box may well have gone in anyway but the heavy deflection it took en route to the net ensured keeper Sean McCarthy would have no chance of stopping it.
Wick were holding their own in the first half but not doing very much on the rare occasions that Brora let them have the ball – such was the control being exerted by the home side.
A silly foul just outside the box on the stroke of half-time more or less ensured Wick's cup adventure would not be progressing beyond the quarter-finals.
Having only just come on as a substitute for the injured Paul Brindle, Bjorn Wagenaar with his first touch curled in a beauty of a free kick to put Brora firmly in command.
The deflated body language of the Scorries was plain for all to see and they were still shell-shocked when they came out for the second half.
Brora could smell blood and promptly put their visitors to the sword.
Poor marking allowed Mark Nicolson a free header to nod in number three and further salt was rubbed into Wick's wounds when captain Alan Farquhar steered a Macrae cross into his own net.
Then followed two examples of why it is always a good idea to clear the ball when it drops into your six-yard box.
Swipes at fresh air were taken by the defence and Scott Davidson didn't need to be asked twice to stab home a fifth.
Brora's final goal mirrored Davidson's. Another misjudged attempt at clearing the ball saw Colin Williamson prodding it over the line.
With a minute to go, Wick finally forced Joe Malin into some work when the Brora keeper pulled off a fine save from Farquhar's header.
There was at least five minutes of injury time that should have been played but referee Gordon Morrison took mercy upon Academy and spared them further punishment by ending the rout bang on 90 minutes.
Brora Rangers: Malin, N Macdonald, A Macdonald, Williamson, Nicolson, Gavin Morrison, Gillespie (Greg Morrison 61), Maclean, Macrae (Davidson 72), Macleod, Brindle (Wagenaar 44). Subs not used: Docherty, Campbell, Mackay, Martin.
Wick Academy: McCarthy, Manson, G Steven, Farquhar, R Allan, Halliday, S Mackay, Macnab (Martens 63), Macadie, Gunn (Koziol 63), Hughes. Subs not used: Clark, D Mackay.
Referee: Gordon Morrison.
