Scorries celebrate despite ICT victory
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WICK ACADEMY 1 - 4 INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE
Scorers – Wick: D. Allan (65). ICT: Dingwall (32), Shinnie (43, 89 pen), Sutherland (53).
MORE than 300 people turned out at Harmsworth Park to pay tribute to one of the club’s longest-serving players.
Gary Manson was given a standing ovation as he led out his team for his testimonial on Tuesday evening.
He was accompanied by pipers to celebrate being with the club for his 12th season.
Not even the heavy rain could dampen what was a celebratory occasion as Wick Academy took on Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
The SPL side took a strong side up to the Far North to play in the glamour tie.
Ex-Scorrie Shane Sutherland captained the Inverness side which also included first-team regulars Andrew Shinnie, Kenny Gillet and Northern Ireland international Jonny Tuffey.
Manson (27) said that he was thrilled to receive such warm response from a club that is close to his heart.
"The amount of people who stood in the rain on Tuesday night was fantastic," he said. "The weather was awful and I thought that people might have decided to stay at home.
"When I was sitting in the dressing room we all thought it sounded a bit quiet outside. But when I led the teams out with the piper it was great to see so many people give me such a great reception."
He added: "It was also an honour to see Caley bring such a strong side to play in my testimonial, but I felt that the scoreline flattered them slightly. We didn’t get off to a great start.
"Maybe the team were slightly overawed by playing against an SPL side.
"But I think we came to life in the second half and gave a good account of ourselves."
Despite being a testimonial, Caley came to play football and from the off took the game by the scruff of the neck.
In the 17th minute, Harmsworth Park witnessed Caley squander the biggest sitter it may have ever seen in its history.
Sutherland dashed through the Wick defence to lay the goal on a plate for Callum Dingwall who was one yard from the net. But defying the laws of physics, he somehow managed to rocket it over the bar.
Dingwall did redeem himself 15 minutes later to score the opener. He met a cross from Harry Stewart which Academy failed to deal with to shoot past Bokas.
The goal of the night came two minutes before half-time. A Gillet corner was met by Shinnie’s right foot first time.
His thunderbolt shot took everyone by surprise and Caley went into the interval a comfortable two goals ahead.
The game was sealed for the visitors in the 53rd minute when Gillet’s darting run through the midfield led to a pass to Sutherland who was one on one with Bokas and came out on top.
Academy pulled one back thanks to David Allan, with Richard Macadie acting as the
architect from midfield to give the home crowd something to cheer about.
Caley restored their three-goal advantage before injury time when Andrew MacLeod conceded a penalty after bringing down Sutherland.
Shinnie brought matters to a close by getting his second.
The night however was not about the scoreline. It was about the fans showing their appreciation to one of their most devoted players.
Wick Academy: Bokas (Gray 70), Cunningham (M. Steven 45), Manson, Farquhar (G. Steven 45), Shearer (McKiddie 45), Gunn (D. Manson 66), Mackay (Mackenzie 45), Weir (R. Allan 45), Macadie, Allan.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle: Tuffey (Matheson 78), Noble, Gillet (Smith 70), Murphy, Stewart, Christie (Watson 45), Shinnie, Sutherland, Mackay (Rigg 75), Dingwall (Whyte 45), Laing (Skinner 78).
