Strathspey clash won’t be a walk in the park, warns Wick Academy manager
Wick Academy face “a step into the unknown” on Wednesday night when a new-look Strathspey Thistle side visit Harmsworth Park in the third round of fixtures of the new Highland League season.
Academy began with a superb 2-0 win at home to Fraserburgh before succumbing to a 3-0 defeat at Huntly. The Strathy Jags are propping up the table after losing 5-0 to Huntly and 7-0 to Brora.
Wick manager Gary Manson said: “We’re in a rich vein of form at home, so regardless of who we’re playing we see home games as chances to get points on the board.
“We’re certainly taking absolutely nothing for granted. It’s a step into the unknown, really, because they’ve got a whole new squad.
“Yes, they’ve taken a couple of heavy defeats at the start of the season, but their squad will still be getting to know each other and it’ll take a wee bit of time for them to gel.
“We’ll certainly not be looking at it as a walk in the park or an easy three points. We’ll need to prepare properly for it.”
Huntly went ahead after 20 minutes at Christie Park on Saturday when a corner reached Matthew Wallace and he sent a looping header beyond James More.
The home side doubled their lead on the hour mark when Sam Robertson found the net from close range in the aftermath of another corner.
With two minutes left, the Black and Golds were awarded a penalty and Robertson stepped up to score his second of the afternoon.
“If anyone just looks at the score, they’ll think it was a comfortable afternoon for Huntly,” Manson said. “But the goals came from two corners that we didn’t defend properly and a penalty in the last couple of minutes of the game.
“Three-nil certainly wasn’t a fair reflection of the game, I didn’t think. Their goalkeeper [Logan Ross, on loan from Ross County] made two outstanding saves.
“On another day we defend the corners properly, their goalkeeper doesn’t make outstanding saves and it’s a lot closer then.
“While we’re obviously disappointed with the result and conceding three goals, if you dig a little bit deeper into the game itself there were quite a lot of pleasing aspects.
“That’s two games in now and we’ve not conceded a goal from open play, against two teams who finished in the top seven last season. We’re certainly a lot harder to break down.”
Huntly, 5-0 winners over Strathspey on the opening day, are joint top of the table as one of five teams with maximum points from two games.
Their manager Colin Charlesworth said: “I’m delighted. Going into the season we’ve had a few boys picking up niggles and coming back from injuries and suspensions, so to not concede a goal and limit teams to half-chances against us in the first two games has probably been the most impressive thing.
“I’ve always known we had firepower going forward to score goals but, with the injury list we’ve had, keeping goals out has been the most pleasing thing for me. Wins and clean sheets breed confidence.”
Formartine United became the first team to hit double figures in a Highland League match this season. United romped to a 10-2 victory at Rothes, thanks in no small part to a second-half blitz as they were only 3-1 ahead at half-time.
League leaders Brora Rangers scored seven without reply away to Strathspey.
Highland League results: Banks O’ Dee 0, Lossiemouth 0; Clachnacuddin 2, Keith 0; Fraserburgh 1, Deveronvale 1; Huntly 3, Wick Academy 0; Inverurie Locos 2, Buckie Thistle 1; Nairn County 0, Brechin City 3; Rothes 2, Formartine United 10; Strathspey Thistle 0, Brora Rangers 7; Turriff United 2, Forres Mechanics 2.
Fixtures – Wednesday, August 7: Brechin City v Inverurie Locos; Buckie Thistle v Fraserburgh; Clachnacuddin v Nairn County; Deveronvale v Huntly; Formartine United v Turriff United; Forres Mechanics v Brora Rangers; Keith v Banks O’ Dee; Lossiemouth v Rothes; Wick Academy v Strathspey Thistle (all 8pm).
Saturday, August 10: Banks O’ Dee v Nairn County; Brora Rangers v Formartine United; Fraserburgh v Brechin City; Huntly v Buckie Thistle; Inverurie Locos v Clachnacuddin; Rothes v Keith; Strathspey Thistle v Forres Mechanics; Turriff United v Lossiemouth; Wick Academy v Deveronvale (all 3pm).
