Wick pay the price for defensive lapses
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Wick Academy 1
Rothes 3
IT may have been Academy boss Tom McKenna’s birthday on Saturday, but Rothes blew out the candles and made off with the three points.
Two lapses of concentration in the second half was all it took to turn an evenly contested match into a comfortable win for the visitors.
Fans of the Scorries must be wondering if they should start a kitty for petrol money because it seems like the only way they are going to see their team win is by going on the road.
The thumping of Lossiemouth aside, Harmsworth Park has been treated to two defeats and a draw. Wick’s last three wins have come on their travels.
Ergo, this week’s trip to Buckie should be a shoo-in for Academy going on current form.
They got off to a flying start through Richard Macadie – made captain for the day following his 500th appearance for the club the previous week.
Jaime Wilson levelled for Rothes before Wick’s offside trap twice disintegrated in the second half to let ex-Scorrie Steven Anderson and Scott Davidson seal the win for the visitors.
While the year-older McKenna was not exactly singing “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to”, it’s fair to assume that this would not have been the most memorable of birthdays for him.
Both sides attacked with gusto in the opening minutes.
Craig Gunn was unlucky to see his curling effort from outside the box go narrowly wide, while at the other end Sean McCarthy had to be on his toes to tip Martin MacDonald’s header onto the bar.
Wick took the lead in 11 minutes when Gunn’s surge down the right left Ewan Neil for dead. He then cut the ball back for Macadie who drilled it into the net.
Anderson had a great chance to level when he found himself unmarked in the box but he shanked his effort well wide of the post.
His blushes were spared soon after when the visitors equalised.
Rothes right-back Ashley Ballam burst down the flank and put a low cross into the box. What followed was a goalmouth scramble before Wilson stuck out a boot to bundle the ball in.
The second half was a more cagey affair but Gordy MacNab must have thought he had restored the Scorries’ lead only to see Cameron MacKay make a magnificent point-blank save from his header.
MacKay’s heroics proved to be a turning point as Rothes went ahead not long after.
Wick’s offside trap was caught napping as Wilson burst clear to release Anderson inside the box. Despite the efforts of Michael Steven to stop him, the Rothes forward managed to squeeze the ball in with McCarthy stranded.
Two-one quickly became three when once again the home side’s offside trap went AWOL as Anderson raced clear to beat the advancing McCarthy to hook the ball over to Davidson, who headed into an empty net.
Wick Academy: McCarthy, M Steven, G Steven, Farquhar, Manson, Henry, MacNab (Macgregor 62), Macadie, Hughes, Gunn (Halliday 62), Allan. Subs not used: D Mackay, Aitkenhead, G Mackay, Hardwick, Clark.
Rothes: C Mackay, Ballam, Neil, M MacDonald, Milne, Stark, Duncan, Maley, Wilson, Davidson (Campbell 89), Anderson. Subs not used: Donaldson, S MacDonald, Sharp.
Referee: Billy Baxter.
