R Davidson (Banchory) Highland League Cup 1st Round

Saturday 9th November 2024

Rothes 1 Formartine United 8

Rothes Scorer: Jamie Young (63)

Formartine United Scorers: Robert Ward (4, 53, 72, 90+1), Julian Wade (62), Taylor Thain O.G. (80, 83), Aaron Norris (89)

The most surprising aspect of this game was the half time score line in a 9 goal game where the home side had held out against waves of attack after the visitors’ third minute opening goal to reach the break without any further loss. This they achieved by a combination of very hard work [that probably caused a melt down later in the game when they were ground almost to a standstill by a super-fit quick and slick United ] and well maintained discipline in keeping their shape in the face of visitor pressure.

United pressed from the outset and after a push on the left was dismantled Wade picked up a through ball from Norris, danced past two markers near the right corner flag before whipping a low ball across the box to met the run of WARD who neatly clipped it into the net just inside the keper’s right upright. This set the pattern of United attacking on a regularly repeated basis. That this was relatively unrewarded owes something to slackness in United’s finishing, Ward, Wade, and Combe all went close more than once but debutant keeper Black was by no means over worked although he had done well with some longish range efforts from Rodger and Maclean. In the 23rd minute, Rothes lost their captain, McDade who was stretchered off and replaced by Mitchell. The pattern of backs to the wall defending in the face of visiting pressure continued with the very occasional break out of defense by Rothes but they mustered little to challenge Macdonald beyond an edge of the box effort from Logan which he caught and held with ease.

The second half began much as the first had finished apart from the fact United finishing sharpened significantly. In the 51st minute WARD doubled his tally with a swerving, dipping drive from the edge of the box that utterly deceived the keeper. United sustained the pressure and within ten more minutes of Rothes being pinned down in their own final third a timorous pass back to the sluggish keeper saw WADE react like an amphetamine-fed ferret to intercept, wrong foot the keeper and bury the ball in the net.

Although three goals adrift with barely half an hour left, Rothes showed some signs of life and forced a corner on the left. A superb leap at the back post took ALEXANDER above the defenders to smash a header that rebounded off the goal line high into the opposite corner of the net.

United all but ignored this interruption to their goal fest and with WARD awaiting a hat trick it was inevitable that he would step up to the spot when Mykyta was felled in the box by Mitchell following up after the keeper had spilled the forward’s vicious drive. The hat trick was completed comfortably when the spot kick whizzed low past the keeper to the left corner of the net.

Tiredness was obvious when central defender THAIN all but tripped over the ball sending it into his own net from when it had been fired across the goal face by Campbell in 79th minute. Adding insult to injury, he doubled his o.g. tally four minutes later when in a goal mouth melee following a corner from the left he managed to put enough of a deflection on the ball to nudge it into his own net at the back post.

A goal from NORRIS is a rare event and it looked like he would complete this game without a goal to his credit but with barely a minute of “normal“ time left he got the finishing touch to a move that had begun with a Mykyta free kick from 35 yards out. It was only partially cleared before being knocked back into the box from the left and he managed to bump it over the line just inside the back post.

The rout was completed in stoppage time with WARD’s fourth with an edge of the box shot struck with such power that it simply flew past an all but immobile keeper, The striker left the pitch with match ball firmly under his left oxter.

Rothes Team: Black, Mutch, McDade [Mitchell 23], Brady, Young, Thain, Thomson, McConnachie, Harkness [Adams 82], Logan, Alexander. Unused Subs: Shepherd, Russell, Low,

Formartine United Team: Ewen Macdonald, Lewis Wilson [Stuart Smith 82], Luke Strachan, Rhys Thomas [Kieran Adams 65], Matthew McLean, Marc Lawrence, Julian Wade [Paul Campbell 75], Graeme Rodger [Kieran Lawrence 65], Aidan Combe [Tyler Mykyta 65], Robert Ward, Aaron Norris. Unused Subs: Cameron Middleton [GK], Scott Adams.

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