Wonder strike give Academy fans cause to cheer
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CLACHNACUDDIN 1 - 2 WICK ACADEMY
Scorers – Clach: Dougal (79). Wick Academy: Shearer (87), Cunningham (89).
SCOTLAND took a battering from extreme winds at the weekend but in Inverness it was a wonder strike from Stevie Cunningham which blew everyone away.
With a minute to go at Grant Street Park – when both teams were looking for the referee to blow the final whistle to escape severe gales – the midfielder launched a 30-yard lob to steal the points.
The goal left Clach manager Iain Polworth furious as, once again, his side let go of its lead to lose the game.
As for Wick, three wins in the last four means progress is being turned into points.
With Lossiemouth, Strathspey Thistle, Rothes and Brora Rangers due to visit Harmsworth Park over the festive season, Academy boss Davie Kirkwood must be confident of his team soaring up the table.
New signing Michael Gray made his first start of the season on Saturday, since returning to his old club, to replace goalie Allan Bokas in the starting line-up.
Gary Weir made his first start in five games as Kirkwood deployed an attacking formation.
Defender Grant Steven, who has won many admirers this season, pulled a hamstring in the pre-match warm-up forcing him to pull out. He was replaced by Stewart Ross.
Clach were weakened with the suspensions of star player Gordon Morrison and Paul Smith, while Chris Morrison missed out through injury.
Academy thought they had taken the lead on the half-hour mark when Weir charged down the left wing and cut inside the Clach defence to get on the end of a pass from Richard Macadie.
He fired past Steven Dunn but his effort was ruled offside.
The visitors continued to create chances in the second half. The best came from Macadie when he crossed the ball into the box, but Weir wasn’t alert enough to reach it.
With blustery conditions making play difficult, Clach must have thought they had done enough to seal the win 11 minutes from time.
Allan Pollock charged down the right wing to send in a pass which got the better of the Wick defence before Mark Dougal tapped the ball into an open goal.
However, the defining moment of the encounter came when Weir was replaced by substitute Craig Shearer, whose five minutes on the park proved invaluable.
With his first touch he fired a 30-yard scorcher on target which Dunn managed to tip over for a corner.
From there, Shearer got his head to the ball and, from six yards, sent a powerful header into the net.
With both teams seemingly content on a draw, Cunningham had other ideas.
Dunn had no chance with his 89th-minute 30-yard effort – the goalkeeper could only look behind and see the lobbed shot agonisingly dip under the crossbar.
Clachnacuddin: Dunn, Dougal, Milne, Scott-Woodhouse, MacLeod, Callum (MacDonald 74), Finnis, Graham (Kennedy 79), Pollock, Urquhart. Subs not used: Harrison, Brindle, Day.
Wick Academy: Gray, Sinclair, Steven, Farquhar, Manson, Macadie, Cunningham, Ross, Weir (Shearer 86), Mackay, D. Allan. Subs not used: Hughes, R. Allan, Mackay, Bokas.
Referee: Graham Beaton.
