Wick manager will be putting 'square pegs in round holes' for midweek trip to Keith
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Manager Gary Manson will have to resort to putting "square pegs in round holes" in his team selection when Wick Academy travel to Keith on Wednesday night.
The Scorries need to avoid defeat at Kynoch Park to ensure the second-bottom Maroons don't climb above them in the table.
It is the first of four away fixtures in 11 days for Academy, who were beaten 1-0 at home by Huntly on Saturday.
Wick were reduced to 10 men after 66 minutes when Sean Munro was sent off after tangling with Huntly's Brodie Allan. It was Academy's ninth red card this season.
The incident came eight minutes after the only goal of the game when Michael Clark rose to meet Ryan Sewell's corner from the left and directed an unstoppable header into the far corner.
Manson said: "We knew exactly what kind of game it was going to be, on quite a fiery pitch against one of the biggest sides in the league, so we tried to match up with them for physicality.
"I thought it was possibly a foul for the header but that was all that split the teams, a header from a corner. Apart from that, there was absolutely nothing in that game whatsoever.
"We could still be playing until next Saturday and it would probably still be 0-0 if it wasn't for that header from a corner.
"It was extremely scrappy and stop-start. The ref was very whistle-happy and he didn't really let the game flow much.
"Nearly every second or third game we get someone sent off. I can assure you it's not through the want of warning the players.
"I said to them before the game, and at half-time, we have to keep 11 on the park. It's just time and time and time again.
"It's difficult, because we're in a bad run of form and with 11 it's difficult. As soon as you start losing men you're giving yourself next to no chance."
Looking ahead to the trip to Keith, Manson said: "We'll need to plug the gaps and move people around and there will be some square pegs in round holes. But when you get put down to places like Keith and Inverurie on a Wednesday, you just have to make the best of a bad situation."
Three Orkney players featured in the Wick starting line-up on Saturday. Owen Rendall played as a trialist along with the returning duo of Jamie Flett and Toby Macleod.
It was a second away success in four days for Huntly following their 4-1 midweek victory over Strathspey Thistle.
Manager Allan Hale said: "We expected a hard-fought game – I didn't expect anything less.
"Coming up here is always difficult, especially after a long journey to Strathspey on Wednesday. There's a lot of fatigue in the team, just with the travel alone.
"Wick are a good team, they've got a lot of good players, so we're delighted with the three points.
"We didn't play at our best, by any stretch of the imagination, but we found a way to win. Six points in a tough week, you'll take that."
The Scorries have lost their last six matches, with their only victory in 2023 having come in January away to Clachnacuddin.
Saturday's result completed a league double for the Black and Golds against Academy this season. Huntly won 5-2 at Christie Park in December, with their fourth and fifth goals coming in stoppage time.
"They gave us a really tough game at Christie Park earlier in the season and we never read too much into how people's results are," Hale said. "We always respect the opposition and we certainly gave Wick our full respect today.
"It was going to take something special to win the game and it was a great header from Michael Clark. The Wick goalkeeper pulled off a couple of saves, but that was one that he had no chance of stopping.
"We had a really poor start to the season but we've been pretty consistent since the turn of the year."
Highland League results: Banks O' Dee 7, Lossiemouth 0; Brechin City 4, Turriff United 0; Formartine United 2, Deveronvale 1; Forres Mechanics 2, Buckie Thistle 3; Inverurie Locos 2, Brora Rangers 4; Nairn County 2, Keith 2; Rothes 0, Fraserburgh 3; Strathspey Thistle 2, Clachnacuddin 2; Wick Academy 0, Huntly 1.
Fixtures: Wednesday, April 5 – Highland League: Brechin City v Brora Rangers; Clachnacuddin v Fraserburgh; Keith v Wick Academy.
Saturday, April 8: – Highland League: Brora Rangers v Formartine United; Keith v Huntly; Nairn County v Clachnacuddin; Rothes v Deveronvale; Strathspey Thistle v Buckie Thistle; Turriff United v Wick Academy.
Highland League Cup final: Banks O' Dee v Inverurie Locos.
Wednesday, April 12 – Highland League: Brechin City v Fraserburgh; Brora Rangers v Lossiemouth; Inverurie Locos v Wick Academy; Strathspey Thistle v Keith.
