We will only get better, says Wick Groats boss after stalemate with Pentland United
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Wick Groats manager Kevin Anderson acknowledged that a draw was a fair result after this week's stalemate with Pentland United, but insisted: "We will only get better."
Both sides had collected maximum points going into the top-of-the-table clash at Ham Park on Tuesday night, so something had to give. The champions thought they had taken an early lead through a Ross Mackay header but it was ruled out for offside and the match finished goalless.
Groats' Ben Sinclair was sent off late on after picking up a second yellow card.
Anderson said: “It was a very close game. I felt that we should have won, to be honest.
“They had more of the ball for large periods in the first half without really doing too much with it in the final third.
“We definitely had the best chances in the first half. I felt we could easily have gone in a goal up at half-time.
“Over the 90 it was a really good, solid, battling performance from us.
“I spoke to a few neutrals who felt it maybe wasn't the best game for spectators. But that is often the case with two of the top teams, they cancel each other out.
“They'll feel they could have won the game, we feel we could have won the game. In reality a draw was probably fair.
“They probably had more of the ball over the 90 minutes, but I certainly feel we created the best chances.”
The teams are due to meet in Wick on July 19 in the return fixture, but Anderson is not looking that far ahead.
“I actually think this year there will be a lot of points dropped by everybody," he said. "As I said at the start of the season, it's hard to gauge where everybody is.
“A lot of players have played in the North Caledonian League but others haven't really played in two or three years. Are the older players at the same level as some of the younger lads?"
He added: “I certainly think people were putting question marks against us, whether we were going to be up for a title challenge. We will only get better.
“We have guys who are still not quite at the fitness levels they should be at. We're also waiting on some guys to come back into the squad as well – Graham MacNab, Jonah Martens and Liam Bremner.
“We certainly have gears to go up as well, so that's the encouraging thing after Tuesday night.”
Pentland United co-manager Michael Gray said he was disappointed and frustrated in equal measure by the 0-0 draw with county league champions Wick Groats.
“I thought that we worked the ball into the final third really well on a number of occasions but never turned that into really good goalscoring opportunities," Gray said after the match at Dunnet.
“Graeme Williamson [Groats' goalkeeper] had a really good save in the first half and a really good save in the second half, but other than that I don't think either goalkeeper really was called upon. There were plenty of near things.
“We were a little bit disappointed with ourselves overall that we could have given a better showing than we did. A lot of our build-up play was good but we didn't have that ruthless element in the final third.”
Groats and the Stabbies are expected to be battling it out to become Caithness AFA Division One champions but Gray is sure there will be a few twists and turns as the season continues.
“I don't expect an easy game from anybody," he said.
“Of all the squads, Wick Groats and Pentland United are probably the strongest but I think anybody can beat anybody at the moment and some of the results have been very tight.
“As the old cliché goes, we'll take it one game at a time and see how that pans out.
“You can't predict injuries, suspensions and unavailability and these tend to be quite defining factors as well.”
He added: “We're quite happy with where we are. We've got ourselves in a position where the squad has evolved to where we've always wanted it to be.
“We've got strength in depth and I think we've got quite a good balance now right through the team.”
Results – Division One: Lybster 4, High Ormlie Hotspur 4; Pentland United 0, Wick Groats 0; Wick Thistle 5, Acks 1. Division Two: Keiss 3, Castletown 6; Pentland 0, Swifts 4; Top Joe's 0, Watten 2.
Fixtures – Thursday, May 26 – Division Two: Castletown v Keiss; Swifts v Pentland; Watten v Top Joe's (all (7.15pm).
Saturday, May 28 – Archer Shield: Caithness v Orkney (Dammies, 2pm).
Monday, May 30 – Division Two: Keiss v Watten; Pentland v Castletown; Top Joe's v Swifts (all 7.30pm).
Tuesday, May 31 – Division One: Acks v Pentland United; High Ormlie Hotspur v Staxigoe United; Lybster v Wick Thistle (all 7.30pm). Colin Macleod Memorial Cup, first round replay: Wick Groats v John O'Groats (7.15pm).
