Wick U17s keep title hopes alive
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WICK ACADEMY U17s 4
NAIRN COUNTY U17s 3
WICK ACADEMY’S young guns shot down Nairn County’s under-17s in a seven-goal thriller at Harmsworth Park.
Mark Macadie’s winning header kept Academy’s title hopes alive while Nairn were left shell-shocked at how they didn’t come away with at least a point.
The breakthrough for Wick came just after the quarter hour when Sam Barclay laid a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Ben Sinclair.
Sinclair’s shot was pushed across the face of goal by Nairn keeper Gus Wilson. Barclay was first to the loose ball and fired it into the back of the net.
Two minutes later Nairn were nearly level when Sean McWilliams slipped a pass to Tyler Eadie on the edge of the six- yard box but the sting was taken out of his shot by Wick’s Greg Mackay and keeper Archie Budge gratefully collected the ball.
The first booking of the match went to Nairn’s Scott Murray when he stopped a driving run down the left by Wick’s Cameron Montgomery, bundling him over just outside the corner of the 18-yard box.
Wick almost made it 2-0 from the resulting free kick but keeper Wilson blocked Mark Macadie’s shot with his legs, then was quick to turn and smother the ball before it crossed the line.
Archie Budge was then called in to action in the Wick goal, holding on to a low driven shot after Tyler Eadie had worked his way down the Nairn right and cut the ball back into the middle of the penalty area.
Nairn were now in the ascendency: Ciaran Young saw his powerful header fly just over the bar, Wick’s Robbie McIver had to time his tackle to perfection to take the ball off the toes of Eadie, Mackay cleared a ball off the line and Cameron Montgomery had to shepherd the ball across the six-yard box after a cross whipped in from the Nairn left. Wick’s Sinclair picked up a yellow card when his sliding tackle failed to get the ball but contacted Eadie instead.
Mackay would no doubt have joined him had his sliding tackle a couple of minutes later not just missed ball and man.
Nairn had a golden chance to level the scores in 34 minutes when Sean McWilliams found himself alone 12 yards out with only the keeper to beat, but he blasted the ball over the bar.
Nairn didn’t have long to wait for their equaliser, though, when a minute later a thundering shot from just inside the 18-yard box by Young had goal written all over it from the time it left his boot until it smacked the net.
Nairn were unlucky not to take the lead a couple of minutes later when a shot from the left beat the oncoming Budge but Mackay blocked the ball at the near post.
Having ridden their luck during a period of sustained Nairn pressure Wick found their way back into the game.
Aaron Wilson saw a shot from the left of the 18-yard box shave the wrong side of the far post, a corner was cleared off the line by Nairn captain Angus Davidson and Wilson pulled off a double save – firstly blocking a Barclay shot with his legs then getting back to his feet to dive back towards goal to get a hand to Macadie’s shot from the loose ball.
Just before half-time the Wick pressure paid off – a corner in from the right looked as if it was met by the shoulder of Nairn’s Harry Barron and Montgomery was on hand to ensure there was no doubt the ball had crossed the line.
With no let-up in the weather, Wick kicked off the second half playing up the slope and into the rain. However, they continued to pressure the Nairn defence.
A run up the right by Aaron Wilson was ended by Ciaran Young, which proved to be one foul too many by the Nairn man and he was next to enter the referee’s book.
Eleven minutes into the second half and the brave souls that had turned out to show their support were rewarded with a goal that would have graced a game at any level.
Barclay picked up the ball in his own half, drove down the right, cut into the centre, weaved and battled his way through the Nairn defence then unleashed an unstoppable shot from the edge of the 18-yard box.
If Wick thought their job was done Nairn had different ideas and the flow of the game changed once again.
Wick became pegged back in their own half and eight minutes later Nairn pulled a goal back with a Harry Barron strike from 10 yards out.
Three minutes after that, the score was 3-3. Keir Morrison was left unmarked at the left post and his header back across goal beat Budge.
As their title defence was disappearing in front of their eyes, the Wick team at last took control. Sinclair broke into the box but his shot was just wide of the left post, a Macadie shot from the right hit the side netting and Barclay was foiled by the crossbar.
Nairn continued to show their resilience and but for Budge saving twice at point-blank range from Young and the crossbar coming to the rescue a minute later the three points would have been heading down the A9.
It was Wick, though, who found the winning goal – a free kick was awarded to the home side after Macadie’s run from the centre circle was brought to a halt by a sliding tackle from Duncan Robertson.
Fittingly it was Macadie’s head that was on the end of the resulting free kick, squeezing the ball between Wilson and his left post.
Three points to Wick and their title hopes but it was hard luck on a Nairn side that could easily have gone home with a win.
