Post by Brian Mackay on Oct 26, 2007 14:27:36 GMT -5
Vikings let it slip in final
Muir of Ord Rovers 2, Thurso 2 (AET - Muir of Ord won 3-2 on penalties)
Published: 26 October, 2007
THE Vikings let the Port Services Cup slip from their grasp on Saturday after an enthralling final in Dudgeon Park, Brora.
An extra-time stalemate after Muir of Ord had battled back from a 2-0 interval deficit meant the silverware was settled by the dreaded penalty shoot-out.
Thurso defender Graeme Reid had the chance to complete an amazing recovery from a seemingly hopeless situation but he sent his effort into orbit to spark unbridled celebrations among the North Caledonian newcomers.
Rovers' maiden success was deserved given the feisty spirit they displayed after falling behind to two marvellous strikes from Wayne Monkman and Mark Nichol.
Defensive aberrations contributed to them drawing level through Jason Hill and Colin MacKenzie, the equaliser arriving on 83 minutes.
Such was their subsequent dominance over a Thurso side that was by then firmly on the ropes, Muir could easily have clinched victory before the end of normal time.
Both sides were near full strength for the first final of the North Caledonian season which was played out on a sun-kissed afternoon on a first-rate playing surface.
Thurso gave a first start to midfielder Michael Petrie, with Martin Bain coming in to partner Nichol up front.
Hill impressed early on, first setting up Kenny Lyall for a low shot which flashed just wide, then having an effort well gathered by Thurso keeper Lee Allan.
At the other end, Nichol went close after good work by Lee MacDougall and was inches away from meeting a spiralling free kick from Kevin Miller. In between, Ewan Dance would have opened the scoring had Kevin Keith's corner been fractionally lower.
Ex-Clach man Gary Calvert was proving a productive outlet down the right flank as Muir enjoyed the better of the early exchanges.
Hill tricked Graham Tait on 17 minutes before curling a shot which Allan was happy to see clear his crossbar.
A minute later, Muir fell behind when Monkman finished off a move engineered by Jamie MacKenzie's early release out wide to MacDougall. The latter's cross was half-cleared to Monkman, who steered the ball wide of keeper Martin Rae from the edge of the box.
Muir responded with a dangerous low cross which was shepherded to safety by Tait before Keith almost got on the end of Ewan Dance's free kick.
Jamie MacKenzie and Nichol combined on 29 minutes to set up the inrushing Monkman for a close-in effort which produced a desperate block.
Three minutes later, Nichol turned an unpromising position to his advantage. He beat a defender on the edge of the box before dispatching a fierce low strike past Rae which went in off the inside of the keeper's left post.
The Vikings could have added to their lead with both Nigel MacKenzie and Monkman going close in the closing minutes of the first half.
Thurso were subdued after the turnaround as Muir cut out the early scoring opportunities, with both Calvert and Keith having close-in attempts. Dance then ghosted in to volley a Calvert free kick narrowly past before his team broke their duck on the hour mark.
Allan was caught on his heels as Hill raced in to connect with a long-range through ball and he lashed it high into the net from 12 yards.
By now, Thurso were very much on the receiving end as Muir went for the jugular. Sub Michael MacKenzie forced a goal-line clearance from Kevin Miller and Dance stabbed an angled shot just wide.
A rare second-half riposte saw Martin Bain and Nichol exchange passes on 72 minutes in a sequence which ended with a fizzing cross finding no takers.
A full-blooded but generally fair contest was marred by a cynical take-out of Allan by Graeme MacGruer two minutes later. His follow-through after the keeper had fielded a high ball fully merited the caution shown to the Muir man.
Thurso looked to have steadied the ship and recovered a parity in possession when they were struck by a sucker punch in the 83rd minute. After they lost possession near the opposition penalty box, Muir broke quickly and exposed a short-handed Thurso rearguard.
After making a tackle in his six-yard box, Reid was unable to complete the clearance and a messy tangle ended with Colin MacKenzie stabbing the ball into the net.
Muir of Ord Rovers celebrating after their penalty shoot-out win against Thurso in the Port Services Cup final at Brora. It is Rovers' first trophy since joining the North Caledonian League.
That signalled an all-out assault on the Vikings' goal as Muir looked to kill off their opponents.
A minute after the equaliser, Dance rose to bullet a header off the underside of the bar, with Allan bravely palming the rebound clear from the shadow of several opponents.
Two minutes into injury time, there was a second major let-off for Thurso when Keith's header from a free kick thudded off the bar.
Substitute Kyle MacLean was booked for a crude lunge on Bain to add to earlier yellow cards picked up by Reid, for a late tackle, and Jamie MacKenzie, for dissent.
Fatigue was a telling factor in extra time with players on both sides eating into their emergency energy reserves.
Thurso dug in to enjoy a definite edge, with Monkman grazing an upright after good hold-up play by substitute Des MacLeod.
The shoot-out proved a strange affair, with tired legs perhaps accounting for the 10 spot-kicks producing a 50 per cent success rate.
Muir took the clear early advantage with Morris MacMillan, MacLean and Martin MacAllister all converting and Tait and Monkman missing Thurso's first and third attempts.
The solitary reply from Kevin Miller left Rovers 3-1 ahead and with the equivalent of four match points. Allan had got hands to two of the early attempts and he proceeded to beat out Ryan Miller's would-be clincher.
With Nichol netting, Allan succeeded in prolonging the contest by diving to block Michael MacKenzie's effort. Reid needed to score to force sudden death but he skied his attempt out of the ground.
The Muir of Ord manager, former Caley stalwart Alan Hercher, was ecstatic at landing a trophy in Rovers' first campaign.
He said: "It must have been a really good game to watch for the neutrals. Full credit to both sides for putting on a really good show.
"They got two really good goals but I thought we then showed a fair bit of character to force our way back into the game."
His opposite number Duncan Gray believed his side had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
"We had the game won and allowed them to come back into it," he said. "You can't take anything away from them in that they kept battling away, but at the end of the game they knew they had got out of jail. It was disappointing to lose two avoidable goals."
Thurso return to league action tomorrow with a trip to Dornoch. A recurrence of a leg injury has sidelined MacLeod, while Jamie MacKenzie also misses out.
Thurso: Allan, Tait, Miller, Reid, Petrie (Steven 70), J. MacKenzie, N. MacKenzie, Monkman, Nichol, Bain, L. MacDougall (D. MacLeod 67) (Foy 110).
Muir of Ord Rovers: Rae, MacAllister, C. MacKenzie, Hill (Miller 67), Calvert (M. MacKenzie (63), MacMillan, Callum (MacLean 58), MacGruer, Dance, Keith, Lyall.
Referee: D. Anderson.
iain-grant@ukf.net
Muir of Ord Rovers 2, Thurso 2 (AET - Muir of Ord won 3-2 on penalties)
Published: 26 October, 2007
THE Vikings let the Port Services Cup slip from their grasp on Saturday after an enthralling final in Dudgeon Park, Brora.
An extra-time stalemate after Muir of Ord had battled back from a 2-0 interval deficit meant the silverware was settled by the dreaded penalty shoot-out.
Thurso defender Graeme Reid had the chance to complete an amazing recovery from a seemingly hopeless situation but he sent his effort into orbit to spark unbridled celebrations among the North Caledonian newcomers.
Rovers' maiden success was deserved given the feisty spirit they displayed after falling behind to two marvellous strikes from Wayne Monkman and Mark Nichol.
Defensive aberrations contributed to them drawing level through Jason Hill and Colin MacKenzie, the equaliser arriving on 83 minutes.
Such was their subsequent dominance over a Thurso side that was by then firmly on the ropes, Muir could easily have clinched victory before the end of normal time.
Both sides were near full strength for the first final of the North Caledonian season which was played out on a sun-kissed afternoon on a first-rate playing surface.
Thurso gave a first start to midfielder Michael Petrie, with Martin Bain coming in to partner Nichol up front.
Hill impressed early on, first setting up Kenny Lyall for a low shot which flashed just wide, then having an effort well gathered by Thurso keeper Lee Allan.
At the other end, Nichol went close after good work by Lee MacDougall and was inches away from meeting a spiralling free kick from Kevin Miller. In between, Ewan Dance would have opened the scoring had Kevin Keith's corner been fractionally lower.
Ex-Clach man Gary Calvert was proving a productive outlet down the right flank as Muir enjoyed the better of the early exchanges.
Hill tricked Graham Tait on 17 minutes before curling a shot which Allan was happy to see clear his crossbar.
A minute later, Muir fell behind when Monkman finished off a move engineered by Jamie MacKenzie's early release out wide to MacDougall. The latter's cross was half-cleared to Monkman, who steered the ball wide of keeper Martin Rae from the edge of the box.
Muir responded with a dangerous low cross which was shepherded to safety by Tait before Keith almost got on the end of Ewan Dance's free kick.
Jamie MacKenzie and Nichol combined on 29 minutes to set up the inrushing Monkman for a close-in effort which produced a desperate block.
Three minutes later, Nichol turned an unpromising position to his advantage. He beat a defender on the edge of the box before dispatching a fierce low strike past Rae which went in off the inside of the keeper's left post.
The Vikings could have added to their lead with both Nigel MacKenzie and Monkman going close in the closing minutes of the first half.
Thurso were subdued after the turnaround as Muir cut out the early scoring opportunities, with both Calvert and Keith having close-in attempts. Dance then ghosted in to volley a Calvert free kick narrowly past before his team broke their duck on the hour mark.
Allan was caught on his heels as Hill raced in to connect with a long-range through ball and he lashed it high into the net from 12 yards.
By now, Thurso were very much on the receiving end as Muir went for the jugular. Sub Michael MacKenzie forced a goal-line clearance from Kevin Miller and Dance stabbed an angled shot just wide.
A rare second-half riposte saw Martin Bain and Nichol exchange passes on 72 minutes in a sequence which ended with a fizzing cross finding no takers.
A full-blooded but generally fair contest was marred by a cynical take-out of Allan by Graeme MacGruer two minutes later. His follow-through after the keeper had fielded a high ball fully merited the caution shown to the Muir man.
Thurso looked to have steadied the ship and recovered a parity in possession when they were struck by a sucker punch in the 83rd minute. After they lost possession near the opposition penalty box, Muir broke quickly and exposed a short-handed Thurso rearguard.
After making a tackle in his six-yard box, Reid was unable to complete the clearance and a messy tangle ended with Colin MacKenzie stabbing the ball into the net.
Muir of Ord Rovers celebrating after their penalty shoot-out win against Thurso in the Port Services Cup final at Brora. It is Rovers' first trophy since joining the North Caledonian League.
That signalled an all-out assault on the Vikings' goal as Muir looked to kill off their opponents.
A minute after the equaliser, Dance rose to bullet a header off the underside of the bar, with Allan bravely palming the rebound clear from the shadow of several opponents.
Two minutes into injury time, there was a second major let-off for Thurso when Keith's header from a free kick thudded off the bar.
Substitute Kyle MacLean was booked for a crude lunge on Bain to add to earlier yellow cards picked up by Reid, for a late tackle, and Jamie MacKenzie, for dissent.
Fatigue was a telling factor in extra time with players on both sides eating into their emergency energy reserves.
Thurso dug in to enjoy a definite edge, with Monkman grazing an upright after good hold-up play by substitute Des MacLeod.
The shoot-out proved a strange affair, with tired legs perhaps accounting for the 10 spot-kicks producing a 50 per cent success rate.
Muir took the clear early advantage with Morris MacMillan, MacLean and Martin MacAllister all converting and Tait and Monkman missing Thurso's first and third attempts.
The solitary reply from Kevin Miller left Rovers 3-1 ahead and with the equivalent of four match points. Allan had got hands to two of the early attempts and he proceeded to beat out Ryan Miller's would-be clincher.
With Nichol netting, Allan succeeded in prolonging the contest by diving to block Michael MacKenzie's effort. Reid needed to score to force sudden death but he skied his attempt out of the ground.
The Muir of Ord manager, former Caley stalwart Alan Hercher, was ecstatic at landing a trophy in Rovers' first campaign.
He said: "It must have been a really good game to watch for the neutrals. Full credit to both sides for putting on a really good show.
"They got two really good goals but I thought we then showed a fair bit of character to force our way back into the game."
His opposite number Duncan Gray believed his side had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
"We had the game won and allowed them to come back into it," he said. "You can't take anything away from them in that they kept battling away, but at the end of the game they knew they had got out of jail. It was disappointing to lose two avoidable goals."
Thurso return to league action tomorrow with a trip to Dornoch. A recurrence of a leg injury has sidelined MacLeod, while Jamie MacKenzie also misses out.
Thurso: Allan, Tait, Miller, Reid, Petrie (Steven 70), J. MacKenzie, N. MacKenzie, Monkman, Nichol, Bain, L. MacDougall (D. MacLeod 67) (Foy 110).
Muir of Ord Rovers: Rae, MacAllister, C. MacKenzie, Hill (Miller 67), Calvert (M. MacKenzie (63), MacMillan, Callum (MacLean 58), MacGruer, Dance, Keith, Lyall.
Referee: D. Anderson.
iain-grant@ukf.net