Wick Thistle manager hails five-star display as best performance of season so far
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Wick Thistle's 5-1 victory over Acks in Caithness AFA Division One on Tuesday was their best display of the season so far, according to player/manager Owen Harrold.
Sam Barclay opened the scoring for Thistle in the first half and Cameron Sutherland doubled the lead with a header from a free kick.
Kyle Henderson struck twice after the break and Danny Coghill wrapped up the points with a fine finish.
Kyle Innes scored from the penalty spot for Acks.
Harrold said: "It was our best performance of the season. Acks have a strong team this year, so for us to dominate the game like we did just shows how good our attitude and workrate was.
"I thought our four attackers, Danny Coghill, Sam Barclay, Kyle Henderson and Gary Pullen, were outstanding and Acks struggled to deal with them all night.
"We were solid at the back, but we had to be as Acks have some tricky forwards in Kuba Koziol and Kyle Innes. We’ve been unlucky with a few results not going our way this season, so this will hopefully give the boys a good confidence boost going forward."
Acks player/co-manager Craig Trueman said: "We started badly again and conceded two goals early on. We gave ourselves too much to do.
"We played a bit better in the second half but conceded goals trying to get back into it.
"Fair play to Thistle, though – they're a good side. They were a lot fitter than us and they played some good football. They deserved their win."
Lybster led three times against High Ormlie Hotspur but had to settle for a 4-4 draw.
There were four goals inside the opening quarter of an hour at Cow Park. William Cannop's opener for Hotspur was cancelled out by Bobby Gunn before Andrew Sutherland made it 2-1 for Lybster, only for Cameron Mackay to quickly restore parity.
Lybster's Richie Budge scored twice in the second half either side of a James Mackintosh goal for Hotspur but Aaron Wilson secured a draw for the visitors.
Lybster manager Cameron Mackenzie said: "I have mixed feelings about the game, if I'm honest.
"It's good to finally get a point on the board. It seems we are finally starting to find our feet a bit in front of goal with a few new signings and one of our younger players, Andrew Sutherland, coming home from university. For me, he has made a massive difference.
"But all in all it's two points lost, I feel. To lead the game on three separate occasions and to lose that lead almost instantly each time isn't really acceptable in the first division, especially considering how much we are needing points.
"As I say, though, there were many positive signs against a young but talented High Ormlie Hotspur team. There is plenty of belief starting to form around the team and I'm confident the lads can take this into the second half of the season and keep us in the first division."
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 – 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).
