Time for Academy to make their move
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SUCCESS for the Scorries at the weekend against Strathspey Thistle has meant a move up the table.
Now sitting in 11th position, the top half is a point away and Academy boss David Kirkwood said it’s time for his team to make its move.
Speaking ahead of a festive double-header against Brora, he said: “With Brora coming up twice then Rothes at home we’ve got to capitalise on that.
“The way we’ve been doing it so far is just scrapping away, especially against Buckie last week. We’ve played everyone now so we’ve got to turn that corner, look at the teams we’ve not played so well against and just try and bury it and go for maximum points.”
The Wick manager’s action plan comes following the 4-1 win at home on Saturday when Academy wasted no time at all in securing an early lead.
Kirkwood said he was very pleased with his team’s performance. “I think it was professional. The second half was a bit more like a training match and we put on a couple of our younger guys to give them that bit of experience,” he said.
“The way we have been playing we have been expecting to get three points and I think after about 20 minutes that’s exactly how we were playing – we were expecting it just to happen. After we got the second goal we started to play better and I think we showed we were capable.”
Frosty conditions and the occasional smattering of very light snow made Harmsworth Park a cold venue for the match.
Kirkwood said that in addition it was clear Strathspey were not going to risk too much for the sake of a win.
“They obviously didn’t want to come up here and go away with a big deficit,” he said. “You have to be good enough to break us down and for 20 minutes or so they weren’t.”
Academy now go to face Brora at Dudgeon Park on Friday night with a bounce in their step.
Meanwhile Strathspey Jags manager Brian Ritchie is lacking a spring in his step after losing out on a share of the points.
He said that Wick are a formidable force on any day of the week but with over half of his first squad calling off at the last minute he knew it was going to be a long 90 minutes.
“It was disappointing in the first half; we never really turned up and maybe gave Wick a little bit too much respect.
“We’re under no illusions and in my mind Wick are the best footballing side in the league. I like the way they play football and they are a blueprint for many other teams.
“Saying that, I’ve got six boys that decided on the Friday night that they were not coming and they’ve let the side down, to be honest.”
Last-minute line-up changes aside, the Strathspey skipper was even less impressed at a communication breakdown which nearly left the team miles from home with no match to play.
“I was a wee bit disappointed to learn that we came all the way only to learn that the game was officially called off at 7.30am and nobody thought to tell Strathspey,” said Ritchie.
“The referee wasn’t happy about it and I’m just happy to be leaving here now.
“Obviously we wanted to get the game played but I think there was a lack of communication somewhere along the line that somebody needs to take a look at.”
A full-on effort from the Academy ground staff ensured that referee Billy Baxter gave the green light for the game.
As to the performance of his players, Ritchie vowed to keep his head up and hopes to improve his team’s position in the new year.
“We seem to be making a habit of coming back into the game late on,” he said.
“It’s experience as well, some of them don’t take on board what’s going on.
“But we live and learn.”
