We were poor from minute one to minute 90 – Manson's verdict after record home defeat for Wick Academy
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Manager Gary Manson admitted Wick Academy had been poor from the first minute to the last as they suffered their heaviest home defeat since becoming a Highland League club 28 years ago.
League newcomers Banks O' Dee romped to an 8-0 victory on Saturday to shatter the Scorries' 100 per cent home record. Academy played for most of the game with 10 men after Joe Anderson was red-carded in the first half.
“I've never been beaten 8-0 before. It's a first for me,” Manson said after the full-time whistle at Harmsworth Park. “It's hard to take.”
There were hat-tricks for captain Kane Winton and veteran striker Neil Gauld in what the Banks O' Dee manager Jamie Watt described as a “statement” from his team, who were North Region junior champions last season and replaced Fort William in the Highland League.
Lachie Macleod and Robert Armstrong scored the others for the Aberdeen side who were two up when Anderson got his marching orders after 38 minutes.
“That's the third time we've gone down to 10 men already this season and it's not easy," Manson said. "You're bang up against it then with a man down and it proved the same again today.
“When you're beaten by the better team you just have to accept it, and we were beaten by a better team today.
“They're a really good side. There's a good balance about them, they've got good attacking players, they limited our chances.
“It was just a really bad day. It was poor from minute one to minute 90.
“You can hold your hands up when you're beaten by a better team, but you've got to make it difficult for them.
“If you're up against a good side like we were today, you can't (a) get a man sent off and then (b) play the way we played and just offer them up chance after chance after chance, not track runners... just everything.
“You could go through the whole 90 minutes and pick holes in every single minute and everything we did, but we'd be here all day. Everything that could have gone wrong today did go wrong and it showed a few people up, I'm afraid.”
Academy again had several key players unavailable.
“I've never known anything like this – players missing every week for various reasons," Manson said.
“The teams at the top have the same core squad every single week. They change one or two players out of their starting 11, they tweak it for whoever they're playing against, but we certainly don't have that luxury.
“We're getting no luck with injuries and Joe will be suspended now as well. It just rumbles on."
Academy had kept clean sheets in their opening three league fixtures at home but their hopes of extending that record beyond 270 minutes disappeared as Banks O'Dee scored inside the first 60 seconds through Winton when he knocked the ball in from a corner.
Lachie Macleod got on the end of a chipped cross into the box to double the visitors' lead on 36 minutes. Two minutes later Anderson was red-carded by referee Billy Baxter after appearing to clip the heels of Macleod, who required treatment on the field before continuing.
Robert Armstrong drilled home the third after 56 minutes and Winton made it four with a simple header.
Gauld helped himself to a treble inside a four-minute spell before Winton completed his own hat-trick in the closing stages.
Banks O' Dee keeper Ross Salmon went off injured just after the half-hour mark and was replaced by Andy Shearer but neither goalie was seriously tested.
Banks O' Dee manager Jamie Watt said: “I came to Wick many a time with Deveronvale and Cove and it has always been a very hard place to come. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would come and win with a scoreline like that, so emphatic.
"It could have been more, being honest, the way we played.
“You've got a five-hour journey coming up here and you say to them, 'You can't let your minds be tired – you've got to be at it from the first minute.' So we spoke about all that and they applied it all from minute one. I thought we were outstanding."
Watt had a special word for Gauld after the former Inverurie hitman reached another goalscoring milestone.
“That was his 350th goal. Getting him for nothing this season on a free was good business for us," Watt said.
“He showed what he is all about and he'll be going down the road a happy man.”
The result lifted Banks O' Dee to sixth in the table, with Academy dropping to ninth.
“It's brilliant to get our first away win," Watt added. "Away from home we've found it a little bit harder.
"At home I think we're going to be quite dominant.
“We're relishing these big games and that's a statement from us today. We're a good team and I'm sure we'll have a say with a few of the top teams when they come to us.”
Highland League results: Brora Rangers 5, Deveronvale 0; Buckie Thistle 2, Huntly 0; Clachnacuddin 4, Rothes 1; Fraserburgh 1, Inverurie Locos 2; Keith 1, Formartine United 0; Lossiemouth 5, Nairn County 1; Strathspey Thistle 0, Brechin City 5; Turriff United 2, Forres Mechanics 0; Wick Academy 0, Banks O' Dee 8.
Fixtures for Saturday: Brechin City v Wick Academy; Brora Rangers v Buckie Thistle; Deveronvale v Keith; Formartine United v Turriff United; Forres Mechanics v Clachnacuddin; Huntly v Fraserburgh; Inverurie Locos v Lossiemouth; Nairn County v Strathspey Thistle; Rothes v Banks O' Dee.
