Post by Brian Mackay on Sept 13, 2005 16:44:47 GMT -5
Balintore 3 Thurso 0 - report by Iain Grant
Colin Chessor has taken over the managerial reins at Thurso after the side's opening day MSIS North Caley League defeat on Saturday.
Murray Mackay has stood down in favour of Chessor, who has led the side's training and conditioning sessions for the past three years.
Chessor, who runs a Halkirk-based electrical sales and repairs business, led Acks to the Caithness county league title in his first summer in charge.
Fellow county league managers Gus Mackay and Stevie Reid are to help him run the Vikings while several senior players are also to be involved in the management team.
Chessor takes over a squad shorn of four regulars from last season but which contains a core of experienced campaigners.
On Saturday, the Vikings could not quibble with the outcome of a game in which they played second fiddle for long spells.
Balintore are a well-organised, hard-working outfit who are solid at the back and have the firepower to worry any side in the division.
Coming in the wake of an opening 3-0 victory at the home of last year's champions Alness, Saturday's win gives them every cause to harbour genuine title ambitions.
Thurso competed well in the first half and in a 20 minute period straddling the interval did enough to suggest they could return with some tangible reward for their efforts.
But that hope vanished when James Skinner struck just after the hour-mark to add to Ally MacDonald's header 10 minutes from the break.
Thereafter, it was a case of damage limitation with Thurso perhaps fortunate just to concede one more goal from the head of Tony Farquhar.
A scrappy start, punctuated with niggly fouls and misplaced passes, did nothing to signal how the game would pan out.
Thurso keeper James More had no chance to settle in on his debut, being called upon in the third minute to hurl himself to his left to turn a sizzling effort Graeme MacGruer round his left post. From the resultant corner, Alan Stainke struck a free shot wide. While the run of play was fairly even, Thurso struggled to pierce a rearguard which coped admirably without towering centre half David Calderwood.
Thurso defender Kevin Warner did well to block a shot from James Skinner before Ewan Dance went close after rising to meet a corner.
The visitors' first attempt on goal saw Lee MacDougall's 15th minute effort trundle wide.
The lively Michael MacKenzie almost cashed in on More's only mistake of the game when the keeper misread the bounce of a through ball after 21 minutes. After it rebounded off his chest, MacKenzie pirated the ball, only to miss the open goal.
MacKenzie went close on two further occasions before Thurso had a near-miss of their own on 28 minutes. Phil Makhouli and Lee MacDougall combined to put Gavin Bremner in space down the inside right channel. The inrushing Mark Nichol was inches away from connecting with Bremner's firmly struck diagonal pass.
Makhouli passed up a half-chance before More had to look lively to turn away an angled effort from Farquhar.
Thurso were now packing more of a punch going forward with a scorching run from Alan Murray after 34 minutes giving him an inviting view of goal. His shot from just inside the box beat Eddie Shearer but also crept past the right-hand upright.
A minute later, the home side were celebrating after James Skinner's free-kick from just past the half-way circle found MacDonald who scored with a neat head-flick from six yards.
With MacDougall posing problems down the left flank, the Vikings continued to give as good as they got with Nichol failing to make the most of a decent opening just before the break.
Thurso's reshaped defence generally performed well but they were guilty of corporate ball-watching when Balintore bagged their second goal 17 minutes after the restart.
Dance, who had just before narrowly missed with a snap-shot, was the instigator as he held the ball up well down the left side. His delivery to MacDonald was immaculate but defenders were culpable standing off to allow him an unobstructed shot from 18 yards. More was again equal to the task as he beat the ball away.
The keeper got no help as the rebound was gleefully seized on by James Skinner who rammed the ball home from close in.
Thereafter, Thurso's goal threat was largely limited to a couple of long-range efforts from Phil Green and Bremner.
Balintore, on the other hand, looked increasingly menacing as they varied attacks through the centre and down the wings.
They struck again on 72 minutes with Farquhar's early near post run giving him the space to nod James Skinner's corner high and wide of More into the far corner of the net.
More did well three minutes later to prevent his side falling further behind when he reached up to claw Dance's wicked, inswinging effort over the bar.
Shaun Forbes then distinguished himself in making a crucial block to get to James Skinner's cross to deny the handily placed Dance.
Balintore sub Calum MacDonald struck the outside of the left post before Thurso were denied a last minute consolation when sub Sandy Sutherland was wide with his attempted finish after being played in by Nichol. MacDougall capped off his side's bleak day when he was red-carded in injury time after he led with his elbow during an aerial tussle with Farquhar. That added to the match's only booking picked up by Warner after he took the legs away from MacKenzie after 70 minutes.
Balintore player /manager Alan Brindle is delighted by his side's cracking start to the season. He said afterwards: "I thought the first half was pretty even but that we worked hard to get the better of them in the second. "I was pleased with our defence who stopped them playing in the last third. "We have the boys who can score goals and I thought we took our chances really well."
Chessor is calling on the side to show more bite in tomorrow's tough match at home to Alness. He said: "I'd taken nothing away from Balintore, they deserved their win on Saturday but in my opinion they are in no better shape than they were last season. "With the guys we have in the side, we should be looking to beat teams like that. It's all down to attitude."
Lee MacDougall is suspended for tomorrow's match while Forbes, Allan Sutherland and Martyn Cook will also be missing.
Chessor is still weighing up his options of how best to reshape the defence and freshen up the midfield. The match at Sir Georges Park kicks off at 3 p.m.
Balintore -- Shearer, Powell (C. MacDonald 79), A. MacDonald, John Skinner, A. Skinner, S. Skinner, James Skinner, MacGruer (Ford 74), Dance, Farquhar, MacKenzie (Mackay 79). Subs (unused) -- Brindle and MacCulloch.
Thurso -- More, A. Sutherland, Forbes, Warner, Cook (S. Sutherland 68), P.Makhouli, G.Bremner, Green (M.Bain 72), MacDougall, A.Murray, Nichol. Subs (unused) -- Adamson, G. Coghill and I. Coghill.
Ref -- Mr M. Dalton, Nairn.
Colin Chessor has taken over the managerial reins at Thurso after the side's opening day MSIS North Caley League defeat on Saturday.
Murray Mackay has stood down in favour of Chessor, who has led the side's training and conditioning sessions for the past three years.
Chessor, who runs a Halkirk-based electrical sales and repairs business, led Acks to the Caithness county league title in his first summer in charge.
Fellow county league managers Gus Mackay and Stevie Reid are to help him run the Vikings while several senior players are also to be involved in the management team.
Chessor takes over a squad shorn of four regulars from last season but which contains a core of experienced campaigners.
On Saturday, the Vikings could not quibble with the outcome of a game in which they played second fiddle for long spells.
Balintore are a well-organised, hard-working outfit who are solid at the back and have the firepower to worry any side in the division.
Coming in the wake of an opening 3-0 victory at the home of last year's champions Alness, Saturday's win gives them every cause to harbour genuine title ambitions.
Thurso competed well in the first half and in a 20 minute period straddling the interval did enough to suggest they could return with some tangible reward for their efforts.
But that hope vanished when James Skinner struck just after the hour-mark to add to Ally MacDonald's header 10 minutes from the break.
Thereafter, it was a case of damage limitation with Thurso perhaps fortunate just to concede one more goal from the head of Tony Farquhar.
A scrappy start, punctuated with niggly fouls and misplaced passes, did nothing to signal how the game would pan out.
Thurso keeper James More had no chance to settle in on his debut, being called upon in the third minute to hurl himself to his left to turn a sizzling effort Graeme MacGruer round his left post. From the resultant corner, Alan Stainke struck a free shot wide. While the run of play was fairly even, Thurso struggled to pierce a rearguard which coped admirably without towering centre half David Calderwood.
Thurso defender Kevin Warner did well to block a shot from James Skinner before Ewan Dance went close after rising to meet a corner.
The visitors' first attempt on goal saw Lee MacDougall's 15th minute effort trundle wide.
The lively Michael MacKenzie almost cashed in on More's only mistake of the game when the keeper misread the bounce of a through ball after 21 minutes. After it rebounded off his chest, MacKenzie pirated the ball, only to miss the open goal.
MacKenzie went close on two further occasions before Thurso had a near-miss of their own on 28 minutes. Phil Makhouli and Lee MacDougall combined to put Gavin Bremner in space down the inside right channel. The inrushing Mark Nichol was inches away from connecting with Bremner's firmly struck diagonal pass.
Makhouli passed up a half-chance before More had to look lively to turn away an angled effort from Farquhar.
Thurso were now packing more of a punch going forward with a scorching run from Alan Murray after 34 minutes giving him an inviting view of goal. His shot from just inside the box beat Eddie Shearer but also crept past the right-hand upright.
A minute later, the home side were celebrating after James Skinner's free-kick from just past the half-way circle found MacDonald who scored with a neat head-flick from six yards.
With MacDougall posing problems down the left flank, the Vikings continued to give as good as they got with Nichol failing to make the most of a decent opening just before the break.
Thurso's reshaped defence generally performed well but they were guilty of corporate ball-watching when Balintore bagged their second goal 17 minutes after the restart.
Dance, who had just before narrowly missed with a snap-shot, was the instigator as he held the ball up well down the left side. His delivery to MacDonald was immaculate but defenders were culpable standing off to allow him an unobstructed shot from 18 yards. More was again equal to the task as he beat the ball away.
The keeper got no help as the rebound was gleefully seized on by James Skinner who rammed the ball home from close in.
Thereafter, Thurso's goal threat was largely limited to a couple of long-range efforts from Phil Green and Bremner.
Balintore, on the other hand, looked increasingly menacing as they varied attacks through the centre and down the wings.
They struck again on 72 minutes with Farquhar's early near post run giving him the space to nod James Skinner's corner high and wide of More into the far corner of the net.
More did well three minutes later to prevent his side falling further behind when he reached up to claw Dance's wicked, inswinging effort over the bar.
Shaun Forbes then distinguished himself in making a crucial block to get to James Skinner's cross to deny the handily placed Dance.
Balintore sub Calum MacDonald struck the outside of the left post before Thurso were denied a last minute consolation when sub Sandy Sutherland was wide with his attempted finish after being played in by Nichol. MacDougall capped off his side's bleak day when he was red-carded in injury time after he led with his elbow during an aerial tussle with Farquhar. That added to the match's only booking picked up by Warner after he took the legs away from MacKenzie after 70 minutes.
Balintore player /manager Alan Brindle is delighted by his side's cracking start to the season. He said afterwards: "I thought the first half was pretty even but that we worked hard to get the better of them in the second. "I was pleased with our defence who stopped them playing in the last third. "We have the boys who can score goals and I thought we took our chances really well."
Chessor is calling on the side to show more bite in tomorrow's tough match at home to Alness. He said: "I'd taken nothing away from Balintore, they deserved their win on Saturday but in my opinion they are in no better shape than they were last season. "With the guys we have in the side, we should be looking to beat teams like that. It's all down to attitude."
Lee MacDougall is suspended for tomorrow's match while Forbes, Allan Sutherland and Martyn Cook will also be missing.
Chessor is still weighing up his options of how best to reshape the defence and freshen up the midfield. The match at Sir Georges Park kicks off at 3 p.m.
Balintore -- Shearer, Powell (C. MacDonald 79), A. MacDonald, John Skinner, A. Skinner, S. Skinner, James Skinner, MacGruer (Ford 74), Dance, Farquhar, MacKenzie (Mackay 79). Subs (unused) -- Brindle and MacCulloch.
Thurso -- More, A. Sutherland, Forbes, Warner, Cook (S. Sutherland 68), P.Makhouli, G.Bremner, Green (M.Bain 72), MacDougall, A.Murray, Nichol. Subs (unused) -- Adamson, G. Coghill and I. Coghill.
Ref -- Mr M. Dalton, Nairn.