Fort William 1 Formartine United 3
The SHFL league table reveals that after two games only 2 of the 18 clubs are on maximum points and evidences the fact that on their day any side is capable of beating any other. Fort pushed Formartine hard in an exciting end to end contest that started at a furious pace and faded only slightly thereafter. With three goals in the first 7 minutes spectators got value for their admission money. It was not exactly silky stuff but had more blood and guts and end to end action than you could shake a stick at. Formartine were definitely the slicker outfit but their defence, which saw Ally Graham, who looked out of sorts throughout, moved across from left to right back and Ross Gardiner making his SHFL debut at left back, was predictably less than rock solid. Regular keeper Stuart Gray had to depart the team bus at Dufftown following a phone call that his better half had gone into labour.[ It can be assumed that the newborn will be in safe hands]. A couple of frantic phone calls later and veteran “Psycho” Dave Christie was off hot foot for Lochaber. Given his advanced age, this amounted to something between a come back and a resurrection. Fort had bags of pace up front with Mackintosh, Ellis and Hewitt having the legs if not always the skills to stretch the new formed defence. An absorbing encounter.
In the third minute, a clever through ball from Notman reached MACKAY who killed it with his left foot and with his right skelped it low and hard past the left hand of the diving Campbell into the far corner of the net. Fort were resilient and stormed straight back at their visitors, taking barely a minute to resume level terms. Haggerty got the better of Graham and played in Maclellan on the overlap: after scorching down the left he swung the ball straight into the path of Ellis who took it on the volley and left Christie with no chance from fifteen yards out.
It was now Formartine’s turn to seek revenge and they flew at the home defence with a succession of attacks in which Mackay, Bagshaw and Stephen were all prominent. It took until only the 7th minute to pay off. STEPHEN, fed by Mackay dragged the ball wide left, slipped past Fahey with almost contemptuous ease, drew the keeper and finished off with a measured drive from ten yards out, his debut goal for Formartine.
Captain Mackay was a constant threat to the visitors and in the 20th minute forced a corner on the left. Notman hit it to the near post and Somers’ header wasn’t all that far over the top. Formartine were making the chances OK but they were not taking them. Both Bagshaw and Stephen shot wide when in one on one with Campbell and Somers got in a decent header from an astute Notman cross but Campbell did well to smother it.
At the other end Macleod, on as sub for Fahey tried a very well judged if slightly speculative lob from a good thirty yards out. The back-pedalling keeper kept his eye on it but was still at full stretch to tip the ball over the top for an unrewarded corner. As the half progressed Formartine were clearly the more dominant but despite better possession and territorial advantage, were unable to cash in. Bagshaw was in decent positions a couple of times but shot past. Mackay was even more profligate: heading one over the top off a Marc Young chip and blasting one past from less than ten yards after the ubiquitous Somers set him up.
The captain redeemed himself early in the second half. In fifty minutes Bagshaw powered through the centre penetrating the defence to reach the edge of the box where he slipped the ball inside for MACKAY who slipped it past Campbell from near the penalty spot. This drew some of the fiery pace from the game and Formartine settled into a slightly more structured pattern and moved the ball about with a bit more authority. Fort for their part grafted away and certainly did not look a beaten side.
Bagshaw is getting back to his best and twice within five minutes breached the defence. The first time he got to the edge of the box and slipped the ball to Mackay and it looked as if a replica o he previous goal would follow. Foggo managed to get a block in and hook the ball into touch. The next time, from a similar position, he played the ball further over the box to Marc Young. Somehow the youngster managed to fall over the ball with the goal at his mercy.
The Formartine defence was looking steadier by now and managed to hold a higher line squeezing the home side’s space and generally dictating matters. Once or twice Fort Breached it but generally they were confined to longer range efforts. In the 68th minute Macleod drew an excellent save from the evergreen “Psycho” as he beat away the sub’s vicious swerving drive.
At the other end, Somers had a snapshot parried away by Campbell for an unrewarded corner and Bob Maitland almost got the better of keeper Campbell well outside his area but somehow Martin did just enough to retrieve the situation. Both sides were tiring and the game began to get bogged down in midfield. The appetite was still there for both sides and a rather desperate two footed lunge by Haggarty on Formartine sub Urquhart produced a last minute red card. It didn’t change anything and the Formartine ran out worthy winners.
Formartine showed up well in patches: enough to give optimism for the season ahead. They look like they need a little more time to gel and reach their best. Some decent moves were there but there was also a tendency to operate at a pace which at times was just a wee bit more than their present level of understanding could cope with. Understandably some well intentioned moves broke down or didn’t quite come off but there was enough there to show that they can pose a serious threat to anyone.
Teams:
Fort William: J.Campbell,Fahey, Martin, C.Campbell, Foggo,MacDonald, Hewitt, Haggerty, Ellis, Maclellan, Mackintosh. Subs: Corbett, Barker, Macleod, Lewandowski.
Formartine United: Christie, Graham, Gardiner, Notman, Simpson, Irvine, Young, Somers, Mckay, Bagshaw, Stephen. Subs, Cadger, Urquhart, Maitland Tait, Booth. |
