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Wick manager: 'We could easily have won.'


By SPP Reporter

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Wick manager Davie Kirkwood praised his team’s fighting spirit.
Wick manager Davie Kirkwood praised his team’s fighting spirit.

DAVIE Kirkwood could not have imagined such a roller-coaster ride during his first league game in charge of Academy.

As his side conceded three goals in the first 16 minutes, he would have been forgiven for wondering what he had taken on.

But, at the end of the match, he praised his team’s fighting spirit for getting back into the game.

He was, however, in a reflective mood arguing the three points were there for the taking.

“It was a great one for the home crowd, especially since we scored all six goals,” he told the Caithness Courier. “You can’t give any team three goals right at the start of the match. They didn’t even have to work hard for it, they didn’t have to open us up to score.

“It was down to individual errors and being caught out by five-yard passes.

“But you can’t stop that, players will make mistakes and if you make them inside your own box, you will get punished.

“I’m not too downbeat about that as these mistakes are easily rectified. These players know what the score is and what needs to be done. But what we showed today is that despite a poor start we can come back and go on to dominate games.

“We could have easily won the match in the second half. I’m taking heart from that and so are the players.”

Kirkwood was also full of praise for Gary Weir who scored twice. He said the importance of having a recognised striker in the team made a big difference.

“Gary is one of the few guys in the team who plays the position naturally. It also takes the pressure off guys like Macadie who can concentrate on midfield duties.

“It will be even better when David Allan returns from suspension. He will add penetration for the top. In the end it was a great point for us, but we’re still disappointed with a great point.”

Clach manager Ian Polworth was also in an ambivalent mood at the final whistle. Despite surrendering a two-goal lead, he admitted he was relieved to head back to Inverness with something.

“We were left hanging on at the end,” he said. “Despite having a two-goal lead early on, Wick looked the side most likely to win it in the second half.

“This was a problem which we had last season and something which we need to improve on.

“We could have nicked it in the end through Gordon Morrison But credit has to go to Alan Bokas [Wick goalkeeper] who had a fantastic game and denied us a number of chances to put the game out of sight.”


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