Saturday 06.07.2024 Pre-Season Friendly

Forfar Athletic 2 Formartine United 1

For the second successive Saturday Formartine found themselves in an away from home friendly against a League 2 team and again it turned out to be a close run thing as the North Lodge lads gave every bit as good as they got against higher league opposition, nut also found themselves in a game where the volume of frequency of the substitutions made over the second half of the game did more to aid tactical development and to ensure that as many players as possible had match time in preparation for the forthcoming season as add to the quality as a spectacle.

As before, the first half of the game yielded a good standard of football and gave the distinct impression that United are well set to apply pressure at the top end of the Highland league from the moment it starts on Sat 27 of July with what promises to ne a stonker of a home game against Banks O’ Dee.

This one started with a push by United that gave the home side something of an opening fright when a long diagonal ball by Mykyta was perfectly flighted to meet the the run of Campbell on the right flank . As The big striker threatened to whip the ball into the danger area while Hutchinson got just close enough for the ball to rebound from him for a throw a yard or two shy of the corner flag. If that caught the “Loons” by surprise, it paled to insignificance when they saw the might of McLean’s throw-in where he hurled the ball to the back post area where the keeper just managed to grab it of the bonce of Wade.

From then things settled as the sides tried to size up their oppositions, but it was noticeable that unlike the previous week against Peterhead, United’s share of possession and territory was substantially the equal of their opponents. For the remainder of the first half the sides pushed and resisted but for all their efforts the keepers were barely tested. With most of the action in midfield things got a bit rowdy at times and full frontal lunge by Malcolm on United skipper Rodger threatened to remove him from the rest of the game but the inspirational skipper hirpled on until the interval before normal mobility was restored.

The second half began with a bit of a bang, Within 5 minutes or so following the restart came a Forfar push centre left, and while United were still trying to figure out who was marking whom, Cannon (on as sub from the restart) lived up to his name with a thundering drive from 20 odd yards and with more space than he should have been allowed put Forfar in the lead. He latched onto a ball played into largely unprotected space just short of the right corner of the box and took his 60th minute chance well.

That lead was fleeting and within a scant minute United had remedied the position with a well worked equaliser. The attack was on the right side initially and yielded a free kick about 20yards out and 3 or 4 in from the side. Mykyta slung it over to meet the head of Julian Wade who directed the ball clear of keeper MaCallum’s outstretched right hand and in off the inside of the far upright.

There were one or two more chances at either end before the end but with both sides making copious use of subs to ensure game time for everyone listed on the team lines the game finished more scrappily than fluently but with United overall having given a good account of themselves,

Forfar Athletic: McCallum, Trialist, Hutchinson, Allan, Morrison, Maclean, Malcolm, Inglis, Trialist, Taylor, McLean. Subs: Whatley, Cannon, Paris, Trialist, Trialist.

Formartine United: Middleton, Crawford (Thomson 78), K. Lawrence (Spink 65), Thomas (K. Adams 65), McLean, Youngson (M. Lawrence 65), Wade (Alberts 75), Rodger (Paterson 75), S. Adams (Hanratty 68), Mykyta, Campbell (Lisle 65). Unused Sub: Macdonald.