Post by Brian Mackay on Mar 22, 2006 12:01:34 GMT -5
Alness United 0 Thurso 2 - Report by Iain Grant
Vikings’ fans will be hoping this cracking win belatedly kickstarts what has been a low-key MSIS North Caley campaign.
Goals in either half from strikers Jamie MacKenzie and Alan Murray did the damage on Saturday.
They killed off an Alness side which in recent weeks have been showing signs of recapturing the form which made them one of the league’s top performers.
Thurso caretaker boss Gus Mackay was rewarded for fielding an attack-minded line-up, which featured a three-pronged strikeforce.
Conversely, Alness paid the price for a lack of ambition, with their unusual 4-5-1 formation flooding the midfield but restricting their attacking options.
The home side were quicker into their stride and sought an early advantage against opponents, who cheaply conceded what little possession they had.
On five minutes, visiting keeper Asa Sinclair was relieved to see a dangerous outswinging cross from the left flit across his goalmouth untouched.
After the uncertain opening, Thurso started to impress with some tidy passing and clever off-the-ball movement.
They had gained the upper hand in terms of possession and territory by the time they took the lead midway through the first half.
A Gavin Bremner corner from the right produced an uncertain headed clearance which fell straight to MacKenzie 10 yards from goal.
After cushioning the ball with his chest, the striker sent a rasping volley past keeper Andrew Maitland into the roof of the net.
Thurso continued to have the bulk of play though they struggled to cut out many more clearcut openings.
Six minutes from the interval, Thurso had a goal ruled out when Murray netted from a far-post cross only to have the effort annulled because of a hand-ball offence
Alness’s first real spell of pressure at the beginning of the final third, ironically, was the prelude to Thurso’s second.
From a corner, the ball broke to Brendan McGarvey on the edge of the box.
His first-time shot was blocked by one of a phalanx of three defenders who closed on McGarvey.
The ball fell to Lee MacDougall who found MacKenzie just inside his own half.
MacKenzie drove forward and committed the last cover defender before finding his strike partner Murray who hammered the ball into the bottom corner of the net from 12 yards.
The 65th minute strike was the cue for Alness to push forward with David Chapman coming off the bench to beef up the attack.
Chapman and Donald Sutherland did cause problems though their efforts on goal were from long range and did not seriously trouble Sinclair.
Seventeen minutes from time, Chapman had another attempt from just outside the box.
This time, the ball deflected off defender Gary Coghill and wrongfooted Sinclair, who had been preparing to dive to his left.
The keeper did well to re-adjust to the new trajectory and get down to touch the ball past his right post.
The rest of the game passed relatively uneventfully to enable Thurso to chalk up their third win in their last four matches.
Dauring this spell, seventeen-year-old defender Joe Pelleymounter came on for his first outing with the club.
Thurso caretaker manager Gus Mackay said: “I thought we played really well.
“There were no failures in what was a good all-round performance.”
Alness United -- Maitland, Munro, Thomson, G. Stewart, Dingwall, W. Stewart, Dunnett, McGarvey, Sutherland, Ross, Keith. Subs (all used) – Davidson, MacAllister and Chapman.
Thurso – Sinclair, Coghill. Forbes, Green, Mackay Steven, Bremner, Bain, MacDougall, Makhouli (Pelleymounter 77), Murray, MacKenzie. Sub (unused) – Sutherland.
Vikings’ fans will be hoping this cracking win belatedly kickstarts what has been a low-key MSIS North Caley campaign.
Goals in either half from strikers Jamie MacKenzie and Alan Murray did the damage on Saturday.
They killed off an Alness side which in recent weeks have been showing signs of recapturing the form which made them one of the league’s top performers.
Thurso caretaker boss Gus Mackay was rewarded for fielding an attack-minded line-up, which featured a three-pronged strikeforce.
Conversely, Alness paid the price for a lack of ambition, with their unusual 4-5-1 formation flooding the midfield but restricting their attacking options.
The home side were quicker into their stride and sought an early advantage against opponents, who cheaply conceded what little possession they had.
On five minutes, visiting keeper Asa Sinclair was relieved to see a dangerous outswinging cross from the left flit across his goalmouth untouched.
After the uncertain opening, Thurso started to impress with some tidy passing and clever off-the-ball movement.
They had gained the upper hand in terms of possession and territory by the time they took the lead midway through the first half.
A Gavin Bremner corner from the right produced an uncertain headed clearance which fell straight to MacKenzie 10 yards from goal.
After cushioning the ball with his chest, the striker sent a rasping volley past keeper Andrew Maitland into the roof of the net.
Thurso continued to have the bulk of play though they struggled to cut out many more clearcut openings.
Six minutes from the interval, Thurso had a goal ruled out when Murray netted from a far-post cross only to have the effort annulled because of a hand-ball offence
Alness’s first real spell of pressure at the beginning of the final third, ironically, was the prelude to Thurso’s second.
From a corner, the ball broke to Brendan McGarvey on the edge of the box.
His first-time shot was blocked by one of a phalanx of three defenders who closed on McGarvey.
The ball fell to Lee MacDougall who found MacKenzie just inside his own half.
MacKenzie drove forward and committed the last cover defender before finding his strike partner Murray who hammered the ball into the bottom corner of the net from 12 yards.
The 65th minute strike was the cue for Alness to push forward with David Chapman coming off the bench to beef up the attack.
Chapman and Donald Sutherland did cause problems though their efforts on goal were from long range and did not seriously trouble Sinclair.
Seventeen minutes from time, Chapman had another attempt from just outside the box.
This time, the ball deflected off defender Gary Coghill and wrongfooted Sinclair, who had been preparing to dive to his left.
The keeper did well to re-adjust to the new trajectory and get down to touch the ball past his right post.
The rest of the game passed relatively uneventfully to enable Thurso to chalk up their third win in their last four matches.
Dauring this spell, seventeen-year-old defender Joe Pelleymounter came on for his first outing with the club.
Thurso caretaker manager Gus Mackay said: “I thought we played really well.
“There were no failures in what was a good all-round performance.”
Alness United -- Maitland, Munro, Thomson, G. Stewart, Dingwall, W. Stewart, Dunnett, McGarvey, Sutherland, Ross, Keith. Subs (all used) – Davidson, MacAllister and Chapman.
Thurso – Sinclair, Coghill. Forbes, Green, Mackay Steven, Bremner, Bain, MacDougall, Makhouli (Pelleymounter 77), Murray, MacKenzie. Sub (unused) – Sutherland.