Post by Brian Mackay on Feb 2, 2011 4:59:27 GMT -5
Thurso 3 V Golspie Sutherland 1 - report by Iain Grant
Thurso came from behind to pick up all three points to fuel their push up the PSG North Caley League.
Michael Petrie, Andrew Bremner and Mark Nichol got their goals in a game which doubled as a first round clash in the Jock MacKay Memorial Cup.
An early penalty from Mark McKernie encouraged Golspie but they never looked capable of reclaiming the initiative after conceding the equaliser midway through the first half.
The Vikings had established a clear advantage before the visitors were forced to play for nearly an hour with 10 men following Jordan’s Sutherland’s dismissal.
On a dry, wind-less day, Thurso looked like picking up from where they left off in their impressive 4-0 victory over Dingwall Thistle the previous week.
On four minutes, Grant Steven sent Kyle Ross scurrying down the left and he almost played in Nichol.
But it was Golspie who were to look the more threatening in the opening 20 minutes with the movement and hold-up play of the
experienced Tommy Campbell and Donald Sutherland occasionally exposing the home back-line.
Sutherland went clear on seven minutes only to have strayed offside when sprinting through to meet Jason Gunn’s assist.
On 13 minutes, the visitors forged in front.
Campbell skipped past Bremner in an abrasive run which took him into the left side of the 18 yard box.
Bremner battled to recover and had embarked on a lunging challenge just as Campbell skipped back towards him.
Campbell’s legs were taken from under him and McKernie duly tucked away the spot-kick.
Bremner partly atoned for his rashness when he played a key role in his side’s 23rd minute leveller.
His searching pass picked out Nichol’s deep run and defenders were still back-tracking when his early cross was volleyed in at the back post by Petrie.
The goal had an energising effect in the home troops who were starting to string some sustained spells of possession play.
On the half-hour mark, a sharp inter-change between Petrie and Nichol ended with the latter unloading a fierce drive which was however straight at keeper Mike McCallum.
The latter soon afterwards showed good reflexes to get down to a Nichol strike from Ross’s assist.
Controversy reared its head on 32 minutes after Petrie was rightly booked for a studs-up challenge.
In the aftermath, Jordan Sutherland was red-carded for a confrontation when he spat at the young Thurso midfielder.
Thurso finished off a high-octane spell when Bremner netted Lee MacDougall’s corner with a powerful downward header on 39 minutes.
The game was slipping away from Golspie’s grasp and they fell two behind on 58 minutes Nichol’s first-time, low strike from the edge of the box curled past McCallum to lodge in the far corner of the net.
Ross had an effort ruled out for offside before Golspie’s Iain Innes and Kenny Whyte added to an earlier booking for Sutherland.
Thurso almost added to their tally on 73 minutes when young sub Murray Mackintosh played in Jamie MacKenzie who ran through but prodded his shot wide of both the advancing McCallunm and the keeper’s left post.
A brief defiant push by the visitors saw sub Paul McLaren and Whyte both stretch Thurso keeper Michael Gray.
Five minutes from time, Nichol was denied a second when his connection from Ross’s prompt beat McCallum only to come back off the left upright.
The visitors lost their discipline in the latter stages when Adam Sutherland, Aaron Smith and Gunn picked up cautions.
Home manager Stevie Reid was pleased to get another victory under their belts. He said: “I thought we were pretty sluggish early on and it took them to score to get a reaction from us.
“After that, I thought about things the right way and while the penalty played its part, we had by then taken the upper hand.”
Thurso – Gray, Begg (Mackintosh 70), Sutherland, Smith, Bremner,
Steven, Petrie (Forbes 65), MacKenzie, Nichol, Ross (Harold 80), MacDougall.
Golspie Sutherland -- MacCallum, J. Sutherland, Duncan, A. Sutherland, MacKernie, Christie (MacLaren 67), Whyte, Campbell, Gunn, D. Sutherland (Smith 67), Innes. Sub (unused) – Thomson.
Ref – Mr G. Elder.
Thurso came from behind to pick up all three points to fuel their push up the PSG North Caley League.
Michael Petrie, Andrew Bremner and Mark Nichol got their goals in a game which doubled as a first round clash in the Jock MacKay Memorial Cup.
An early penalty from Mark McKernie encouraged Golspie but they never looked capable of reclaiming the initiative after conceding the equaliser midway through the first half.
The Vikings had established a clear advantage before the visitors were forced to play for nearly an hour with 10 men following Jordan’s Sutherland’s dismissal.
On a dry, wind-less day, Thurso looked like picking up from where they left off in their impressive 4-0 victory over Dingwall Thistle the previous week.
On four minutes, Grant Steven sent Kyle Ross scurrying down the left and he almost played in Nichol.
But it was Golspie who were to look the more threatening in the opening 20 minutes with the movement and hold-up play of the
experienced Tommy Campbell and Donald Sutherland occasionally exposing the home back-line.
Sutherland went clear on seven minutes only to have strayed offside when sprinting through to meet Jason Gunn’s assist.
On 13 minutes, the visitors forged in front.
Campbell skipped past Bremner in an abrasive run which took him into the left side of the 18 yard box.
Bremner battled to recover and had embarked on a lunging challenge just as Campbell skipped back towards him.
Campbell’s legs were taken from under him and McKernie duly tucked away the spot-kick.
Bremner partly atoned for his rashness when he played a key role in his side’s 23rd minute leveller.
His searching pass picked out Nichol’s deep run and defenders were still back-tracking when his early cross was volleyed in at the back post by Petrie.
The goal had an energising effect in the home troops who were starting to string some sustained spells of possession play.
On the half-hour mark, a sharp inter-change between Petrie and Nichol ended with the latter unloading a fierce drive which was however straight at keeper Mike McCallum.
The latter soon afterwards showed good reflexes to get down to a Nichol strike from Ross’s assist.
Controversy reared its head on 32 minutes after Petrie was rightly booked for a studs-up challenge.
In the aftermath, Jordan Sutherland was red-carded for a confrontation when he spat at the young Thurso midfielder.
Thurso finished off a high-octane spell when Bremner netted Lee MacDougall’s corner with a powerful downward header on 39 minutes.
The game was slipping away from Golspie’s grasp and they fell two behind on 58 minutes Nichol’s first-time, low strike from the edge of the box curled past McCallum to lodge in the far corner of the net.
Ross had an effort ruled out for offside before Golspie’s Iain Innes and Kenny Whyte added to an earlier booking for Sutherland.
Thurso almost added to their tally on 73 minutes when young sub Murray Mackintosh played in Jamie MacKenzie who ran through but prodded his shot wide of both the advancing McCallunm and the keeper’s left post.
A brief defiant push by the visitors saw sub Paul McLaren and Whyte both stretch Thurso keeper Michael Gray.
Five minutes from time, Nichol was denied a second when his connection from Ross’s prompt beat McCallum only to come back off the left upright.
The visitors lost their discipline in the latter stages when Adam Sutherland, Aaron Smith and Gunn picked up cautions.
Home manager Stevie Reid was pleased to get another victory under their belts. He said: “I thought we were pretty sluggish early on and it took them to score to get a reaction from us.
“After that, I thought about things the right way and while the penalty played its part, we had by then taken the upper hand.”
Thurso – Gray, Begg (Mackintosh 70), Sutherland, Smith, Bremner,
Steven, Petrie (Forbes 65), MacKenzie, Nichol, Ross (Harold 80), MacDougall.
Golspie Sutherland -- MacCallum, J. Sutherland, Duncan, A. Sutherland, MacKernie, Christie (MacLaren 67), Whyte, Campbell, Gunn, D. Sutherland (Smith 67), Innes. Sub (unused) – Thomson.
Ref – Mr G. Elder.