Wick squad will be 'bigger and better and stronger' for next Highland League campaign
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Manager Gary Manson is determined that Wick Academy's squad will be "bigger and better and stronger" next season after they finished third from bottom in the Highland League.
Manson had to contend with long-term injuries to key players throughout the 2022/23 campaign, along with suspensions and lack of availability.
The Scorries completed their fixtures with a 2-2 draw against Lossiemouth at Harmsworth Park. The home side led twice, thanks to a brilliant double by Gordon MacNab, but the Coasters responded with two penalties from Niall Kennedy.
A victory would have lifted Academy to 14th, above Lossie and Keith, but instead they ended up 16th in the 18-team division.
"Overall it was a disappointment," Manson said. "But we started the season really well, we had a good Scottish Cup run, and then we finished the season only getting beaten once in four games.
"I know it's far from ideal. It's not where we set out to finish but you've got to take positives from every campaign, so that's what we'll do over the close season and we'll try and rejuvenate and go again."
Preparations for 2023/24 have already begun, he said, adding: "We'll hopefully have a bigger and better and stronger squad next season."
Academy's line-up on Saturday included Steven Anderson as a trialist, while Owen Rendall was the only one of the Orkney-based trio to feature in the squad.
The Scorries took the lead after four minutes. Sean Campbell delivered a cross from wide on the right and from then on it was all about MacNab's trickery and eye for goal. The striker evaded a couple of challenges before expertly curling the ball beyond Lossie keeper Cameron Farquhar.
Lossie were awarded a penalty three minutes into the second half for a foul by Rendall. Kennedy fired the ball low to Graeme Williamson's right.
MacNab restored Wick's lead after 72 minutes with another superb strike.
Ryan Campbell did well to win possession wide on the left and he played the ball to MacNab just outside the penalty area. MacNab brought it under control, created space for himself and slammed it past the diving Farquhar.
Three minutes later it was level again after Manson was adjudged to have tripped a Lossie player in the box. Kennedy stepped up again and chose the same spot, this time sending Williamson the wrong way.
While there were no complaints about the first penalty, Manson was adamant that he had got "a clear toe on the ball" for the second one.
He added: "At times it had that 'end of season affair' feel to it, but on the balance of play I thought we should have won it. We scored two good goals and they scored two penalties, which are avoidable."
Lossiemouth interim manager Ian Campbell felt that Saturday's 2-2 draw at Wick provided further evidence of how the Coasters are maturing as a squad.
The result at Harmsworth Park meant Lossie finished 14th in the Highland League, one place higher than last season.
Campbell admitted that his team had been "a bit fortunate" with the penalty decisions that led to their goals. But he felt they should have scored more, given the number of chances they had.
"We needed to get a point," Campbell said. "That keeps us 14th. The last thing we needed was to get beaten by Wick today.
"The boys battled on and kept going. It was a bit of a bobbly pitch and that might have caused a couple of penalties as well because maybe the defender missed it with the bobble.
"But I thought on the whole I thought we created more chances.
"The boy [Gordon MacNab] scored two great goals, to be fair. A couple of seasons ago we would have just folded there and would have lost the game.
"The boys have matured a wee bit so they battled away. I remember the first time I first came up here [in 2018], the average age of our team was 19. It was 8-0 at half-time, and it finished 8-0.
"So you can look at us as having come on a bit since then."
Reflecting on the season as a whole for Lossiemouth, Campbell said: "I'm disappointed with the points but we're a place above where we were last season, and we've scored more goals. But if you take Fort William out of that it's a difficult one to judge.
"It's a good competitive league. Anywhere from sixth or seventh down, you could expect anything to happen."
Brechin City clinched the Highland League title in dramatic fashion with two goals in the last few minutes in the championship showdown against Buckie Thistle in front of a bumper crowd at Victoria Park.
A draw would have been enough for the Jags, and it was still goalless with just four minutes to go. Ewan Loudon broke the deadlock and Grady McGrath sealed Brechin's 2-0 victory with the last kick of the game.
The defeat was Buckie's first at Victoria Park since August 2019.
Brechin now go on to take on Lowland League winners Spartans in the play-offs, the first step towards a possible return to the Scottish Professional Football League for Andy Kirk's men two years after they were relegated from League Two.
Highland League results: Brora Rangers 3, Rothes 0; Buckie Thistle 0, Brechin City 2; Deveronvale 2, Nairn County 3; Formartine United 2, Inverurie Locos 1; Fraserburgh 3, Strathspey Thistle 1; Keith 2, Banks O' Dee 3; Turriff United 4, Clachnacuddin 1; Wick Academy 2, Lossiemouth 2.
