'Two points dropped' as Wick boss McKenna points to lack of consistency
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Tom McKenna admitted the home draw with Clachnacuddin was typical of Wick Academy’s lack of consistency this season.
The Scorries went into Saturday’s match looking to keep up the momentum from the 2-1 victory over Formartine United. With their opponents from Merkinch sitting 13th in the league, three places below Academy at start of play, it looked like a winnable fixture – but it was not to be.
“It was a frustrating afternoon,” manager McKenna said after the 1-1 draw. He felt the bumpy Harmsworth playing surface had been a factor, but acknowledged his side had been punished for getting off to a slow start.
“The pitch is not conducive to how they want to play, but then you’ve got to be able to be adaptable,” he said. “Either team could have won it – the game was quite evenly balanced.
“I think we just came unstuck in the first 10 minutes. We didn’t settle in to the game quickly enough, we conceded a free kick and they eventually scored from the second phase of that, so we were chasing the game.
“We got ourselves back in it through Jack Henry and we had a great opportunity across the face of goal with Jack Halliday.
“No disrespect, but these are the teams we should be getting three points against. It was two points dropped for us but that’s probably been the story of the season.
“It’s a wee bit frustrating after last week’s excellent performance.
“The lads are down. They wanted a wee bit more and they expected a wee bit more. Those are the standards they have set for themselves.
“Unfortunately there hasn’t really been any consistency in our performances throughout the year and today was just an example of that.”
He added: “We’re starting to get good numbers again and the squad is a lot healthier at the moment, so we’re in a good position regarding personnel.”
McKenna is looking forward to getting Craig Gunn back from injury and linking up again with the livewire Davie Allan.
“You miss Craig,” the manager said. “He is probably the most natural goalscorer we’ve got in the team so his absence is really missed.
“At the moment Davie Allan is being really constructive. He is working very hard – he just doesn’t stop. He unsettles people, and with the goalscoring ability Craig has got, and with Davie working the way he is, it’ll be a great partnership.”
Clach manager Sandy McLeod, who made more than 100 appearances for Academy as a defender in the mid to late 1990s, said: “It was a hard-fought game. I thought in the second half we had a few half-chances and we could have maybe got the three points.
“But we’re happy coming here and getting a draw because Wick are a good side. The boys battled well so we’re happy to go home with a point. Obviously it would have been better with three points, but we’ll take a point. Considering where we are at the moment, everything is a bonus.”
McLeod, who was appointed as Clach manager at the end of August, has a lot of faith in his squad. “It has been up and down, but you’re going to get that,” he said.
“We have a good bunch of boys and they work hard. They can handle most of the teams apart from maybe the top three or four.
“They put up a good show today so I’m happy with that. I wish Wick all the best.”
