Formartine United 3 Strathspey Thistle 1
[Match abandoned after 67.5 minutes.]
This was not a case of the proverbial “game of two halves” but rather one of three quarters as referee Braidwood called a halt to proceedings in the 68th minute at the precise mid point of the second half. Pre-match and half time pitch inspections allowed the game between these two newcomers to SHFL to start and progress to that point. Torrential, rattling showers were skirling down the pitch from the village end to the extent that terms like “overflow car park” and “floating the ball” into the box took on a literal meaning. The defining moment came after several slips and a ball floated into the box, landed and continued to do just that. Conditions by then were not just incompatible with decent football, but were beginning to get dangerous and despite obvious Formartine disappointment, there was no real objection to the inevitable abandonment.
There was no mistaking the desire and appetite of the North Lodgers as they imposed themselves on the Speysiders from the outset. The ball was worked down the right by Ally Graham to Marc Young and over to Kenny Coull whose shot was deflected by the upright. Stuart McKay was proving a very hot handful for both Ross and Ireland and within 5 minutes had split the two of them to get in a vicious swirling shot that found the side netting. The quick feet of Jamie Winter allowed him a dominant presence in the central areas and with Young and Fyfe doing fetch and carry in the wider areas Formartine were pulling the midfield strings. Strathspey had a bit of left sided pace and trickery in the form of David Ritchie and in the 16th minute he managed to get past Cumming who had slipped in the dubs and aquaplaned in the wrong direction. The shot was tamely struck within comfortable reach of Stewart Gray who gathered it easily. A couple of minutes Ritchie managed another strike. Lurking in the hole he picked up a corner clearance by Simpson that was impeded by surface water and took a fair skelp at it. The force was there but the accuracy was missing and the ball slid past Gray’s left upright.
From then on in, it was Formartine who called the shots. In the immortal words of David Francie, Jamie Winter is a “dangerous man with dead balls”. In the 25th minute, he hit a twenty five yard free kick that was screaming towards the top left corner before Bowles somehow finger-tipped it over the top for a corner. Fyfe played it deep and menacingly towards the back stick where Bowles just managed to smother the ball at the feet of Coull. It was pretty well one way traffic and only a question of time before Formartine went ahead. This followed another corner in the 31st minute. Again Fyfe played it deep beyond the back post. Simpson rose above the defence and headed the ball back to the opposite post where another perfectly judged run from SOMERS found him in on the keeper and with a venomous half volley he lashed the ball, left footed, high into the net.
Formartine pressure was nigh on incessant with chances falling for Coull and McKay brining out the best from busy Bowles. The visitors managed one break when Finnigan got clear sight of goal in the 40th minute. His shot lacked conviction and was comfortably contained by Gray. 2 minutes later SOMERS showed his aerial prowess by getting on the end of a beautifully accurate deep cross from Marc Young and rising imperiously above Ross to direct a seriously powerful header back across the path of the keeper and down into the opposite corner of the goal.
The second half began with Formartine raising the tempo even further. Playing into the teeth of the gale in rain that had increased from heavy to utterly torrential but unphased by the conditions, they continued their onslaught as McKay and Coull carved their way through the visiting midfield and defence before the former was dispossessed by Mochan. The ball was booted up the park. In a tussle for it Irvine and Bobrowski both seemed to slip and landed in a pile. Ross trundled up and launched what looked like a speculative back post cross. The elements conspired and with forwards and defenders alike deceived by its crazy flight the ball swirled like a ping pong ball in a water cannon over everyone and into the net. Murray Ross will lay claim to it, but the big defender owes handsome thanks to the Almighty for that goal.
In the 53rd minute following almost another period of incessant pressure Formartine restored their 2 goal lead. McKay was fed by Winter near the centre circle and set off on what can best be described as a voyage down the right. Navigating the ball past Hardie and Hendry he set sail for goal along the bye line. He clipped it over to Young who was downed and almost drowned by a rearward tackle by Mochan. No doubt about who was up for the penalty. Big Baz reigned [or should it be rained supreme?] and calmly completed his hat trick SOMERS showed his versatility with the perfect hat trick. One with the left, one with right and one with the head. 9 goals in 7 starts and half of them in midfield at that, what a find this guy has been.
Formartine pressure continued but so too the down pour. Firmly struck passes were stopping ludicrously short and the risk of collisions between players rose exponentially. Half way through the 68th minute the ref had seen enough and aborted proceedings. This was a real blow to Formartine who had serious ambitions to reduce their fixture backlog while many above them were on Cup duty. Another twenty two minutes and thirty seconds and they would have been in the top half of the league still with games in hand and beginning to eye up a place in the top three or four. That’s football.
Teams:
Formartine United: Gray, Cumming, Simpson, Irvine, Graham, Young Somers, Winter, Fyfe, McKay, Coull.
Subs. A. Maitland, R. Maitland, Shinnie, Seivewright, Horne.
Strathspey Thistle: Bowles, Hendry, Mochan, Ireland, Ross, Hardie, Swinton, Rodgers, Finnigan, Bobrowski, Ritchie.
Subs: MacKay, Gaff, Mitchell, Flett.
