Post by Brian Mackay on Nov 13, 2008 14:34:54 GMT -5
Bonar Bridge 4 V Thurso 3 - report by Iain Grant
Veteran winger Billy Ferries proved the undoing of the Vikings on Saturday as they suffered their first defeat at Bonar Bridge in 10 years.
The 42-year-old former Ross County favourite rolled back the years as he bagged a hat-trick to leave Thurso searching for their first away win of the MSIS North Caley campaign.
Stevie Reid’s men looked to have got the measure of their opponents after going 3-2 up early in the second period.
But a controversial equaliser from Ferries got Bonar’s tails up and they went on to clinch victory thanks to a late strike from Sean Henstridge. Thurso were caught cold when Ferries grabbed his first of the day with a sixth minute free-kick.
After he was upended by Steven Sinclair, he recovered quickly and keeper Asa Sinclair was still marshalling his defence when Ferries sent an inch-perfect delivery into the far corner of the net.
The visitors settled into a neat passing game and it was no surprise when they drew level on 29 minutes.
Bonar were finding it difficult to track Wayne Monkman’s forward runs and he took advantage of one unmatched foray to drift infield before burying a shot from just inside the box.
Bonar restored their lead within seven minutes when Ferries worked space for himself before beating Asa Sinclair with a 20 yard lob. Thurso dominated possession and both Martin Sinclair and Martin Bain passed up inviting chances to level the score before the interval.
The Vikings stepped up a gear after the interval when they looked good value to secure a win with something to spare.
On 49 minutes, they equalised when Willie Inrig’s glorious 40 yard diagonal found Lee MacDougall in acres of space on the edge of the box. The wide man did not break stride as he blasted the ball wide of keeper Steve Martin.
Thurso continued to create but spurn decent opportunities in front of goal. The most blatant came when Martin Sinclair did the spadework for what should have been a routine finish from Monkman. The Orcadian had time to pick his spot from 10 yards but he opted for a first-time strike which he skied.
The misses came back to haunt the Vikings as Bonar battled their way back into the match.
The visitors were furious about Ferries’ third on 77 minutes when he blatantly grabbed Stuart Sinclair’s shirt as the pair tussled out wide. Thurso players, including Asa Sinclair, crucially waited for a whistle but ref John Nicolson saw nothing amiss and Ferries duly netted with a chip over the distracted keeper.
Things went from bad to worse for the Vikings five minutes from time when Shaun Forbes got caught dallying on the ball and Henstridge nipped in to rob him before slotting the ball past Asa Sinclair.
Thurso could not reply and so suffered their first defeat at Bonar since the second game of their inaugural season in 1998.
It is another setback for them in their bid to finish high enough to claim one of the North of Scotland Cup places which are due to go to North Caley sides next season.
While the SFA have still to confirm the arrangement, it looks like teams in the top three or four will qualify.
Manager Reid was left to rue the chances that went west on Saturday. “It was unbelievable – we had enough chances to win two games,” he reflected. He believed the turning point was when they were unable to cash in on their spell of dominance after they went 3-2 up. “We had all the play then and had we scored again, we would definitely have gone on to win. “Overall, we played reasonably well but it’s just not happening for us in front of goal.”
Thurso tomorrow make their first trip to Tain Thistle. Gavin Bremner is back from holiday while Andrew Cumming is also available for the trip.
Thurso – A. Sinclair, Groundwater, Stuart Sinclair, Steven Sinclair (Shearer 80), Forbes, Bain (Stewart 80), Inrig, Petrie (Miller 86), Monkman, M. Sinclair, MacDougall.
Ref – Mr J. Nicolson, Inverness.
Elsewhere, Muir of Ord’s resurgence continued when they drubbed Tain 5-1. All the goals came in the first half with Martin Callum grabbing a hat-trick and Ewan Dance a double for Muir and Paul Austin replying for the visitors.
Balintore undermined their goal-shy reputation when they banged in five without reply away to Alness United. Gus MacDonald and Ross Powell each struck twice and Graham Davis bagged the other.
Bunillidh Thistle are on course for one of their most successful seasons in recent years. They kept up the good work on Saturday when Robert MacDonald’s second half threesome helped them post a 4-1 win in Invergordon. A Leon Urquhart goal had them ahead at the interval with Alan Stone on target for the hosts.
Veteran winger Billy Ferries proved the undoing of the Vikings on Saturday as they suffered their first defeat at Bonar Bridge in 10 years.
The 42-year-old former Ross County favourite rolled back the years as he bagged a hat-trick to leave Thurso searching for their first away win of the MSIS North Caley campaign.
Stevie Reid’s men looked to have got the measure of their opponents after going 3-2 up early in the second period.
But a controversial equaliser from Ferries got Bonar’s tails up and they went on to clinch victory thanks to a late strike from Sean Henstridge. Thurso were caught cold when Ferries grabbed his first of the day with a sixth minute free-kick.
After he was upended by Steven Sinclair, he recovered quickly and keeper Asa Sinclair was still marshalling his defence when Ferries sent an inch-perfect delivery into the far corner of the net.
The visitors settled into a neat passing game and it was no surprise when they drew level on 29 minutes.
Bonar were finding it difficult to track Wayne Monkman’s forward runs and he took advantage of one unmatched foray to drift infield before burying a shot from just inside the box.
Bonar restored their lead within seven minutes when Ferries worked space for himself before beating Asa Sinclair with a 20 yard lob. Thurso dominated possession and both Martin Sinclair and Martin Bain passed up inviting chances to level the score before the interval.
The Vikings stepped up a gear after the interval when they looked good value to secure a win with something to spare.
On 49 minutes, they equalised when Willie Inrig’s glorious 40 yard diagonal found Lee MacDougall in acres of space on the edge of the box. The wide man did not break stride as he blasted the ball wide of keeper Steve Martin.
Thurso continued to create but spurn decent opportunities in front of goal. The most blatant came when Martin Sinclair did the spadework for what should have been a routine finish from Monkman. The Orcadian had time to pick his spot from 10 yards but he opted for a first-time strike which he skied.
The misses came back to haunt the Vikings as Bonar battled their way back into the match.
The visitors were furious about Ferries’ third on 77 minutes when he blatantly grabbed Stuart Sinclair’s shirt as the pair tussled out wide. Thurso players, including Asa Sinclair, crucially waited for a whistle but ref John Nicolson saw nothing amiss and Ferries duly netted with a chip over the distracted keeper.
Things went from bad to worse for the Vikings five minutes from time when Shaun Forbes got caught dallying on the ball and Henstridge nipped in to rob him before slotting the ball past Asa Sinclair.
Thurso could not reply and so suffered their first defeat at Bonar since the second game of their inaugural season in 1998.
It is another setback for them in their bid to finish high enough to claim one of the North of Scotland Cup places which are due to go to North Caley sides next season.
While the SFA have still to confirm the arrangement, it looks like teams in the top three or four will qualify.
Manager Reid was left to rue the chances that went west on Saturday. “It was unbelievable – we had enough chances to win two games,” he reflected. He believed the turning point was when they were unable to cash in on their spell of dominance after they went 3-2 up. “We had all the play then and had we scored again, we would definitely have gone on to win. “Overall, we played reasonably well but it’s just not happening for us in front of goal.”
Thurso tomorrow make their first trip to Tain Thistle. Gavin Bremner is back from holiday while Andrew Cumming is also available for the trip.
Thurso – A. Sinclair, Groundwater, Stuart Sinclair, Steven Sinclair (Shearer 80), Forbes, Bain (Stewart 80), Inrig, Petrie (Miller 86), Monkman, M. Sinclair, MacDougall.
Ref – Mr J. Nicolson, Inverness.
Elsewhere, Muir of Ord’s resurgence continued when they drubbed Tain 5-1. All the goals came in the first half with Martin Callum grabbing a hat-trick and Ewan Dance a double for Muir and Paul Austin replying for the visitors.
Balintore undermined their goal-shy reputation when they banged in five without reply away to Alness United. Gus MacDonald and Ross Powell each struck twice and Graham Davis bagged the other.
Bunillidh Thistle are on course for one of their most successful seasons in recent years. They kept up the good work on Saturday when Robert MacDonald’s second half threesome helped them post a 4-1 win in Invergordon. A Leon Urquhart goal had them ahead at the interval with Alan Stone on target for the hosts.