(26/02/2022 – BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE – NORTH LODGE PARK, PITMEDDEN)
FORMARTINE UNITED came out on top at North Lodge Park against LOSSIEMOUTH on a blustery day in Aberdeenshire. Some generous defending from the Coasters helped Formartine on their way, and while goals from Fergus Edwards and Dean Stewart kept Lossie in the game, the damage was done late in the first half.
Logan Ross returned to the starting line-up, James Leslie retained his starting place, and Ryan Stuart dropped to the bench for the Coasters after a hard shift against the Broch last week. Formartine lined up with Jonny Smith as their main goal threat but the hosts were not short of goals across the pitch.
The game commenced under blue skies and in blustery conditions, and perhaps Lossie were still acclimatising to the spring afternoon as Formartine opened scoring inside the first minute. A ball through the middle caught Lossie napping and Scott Lisle bolted onto it, evading the outrushing Logan Ross and poking home.
Lossie were unfazed by the opener and responded well, with Ross Morrison drawing a save from Ewan Macdonald before Dean Stewart rattled the crossbar with a header from the resulting corner. Formartine looked threatening at times but were reeled in from another corner. Fergus Edwards found all the space in the world to head home a flag kick at the back post as Formartine momentarily nodded off.
The hosts were a little flat in spells and Lossie looked a match for them at times, but there was a sharpness about sponsors’ man of the match Smith that made the difference in the first half, as he headed home at the back post to restore Formartine’s lead with half an hour gone.
Just before the break, Lossie went to sleep and allowed Formartine to rack up the goals that ultimately won the game. Smith eased in to nod home a Daniel Park cross, and before Lossie could draw breath Graeme Rodger had tucked away his own rebound following a save from Ross to leave Lossie needing something stronger than a slice of orange and a cup of tea at half time.
HALF TIME – FORMARTINE UNITED 4-1 LOSSIEMOUTH
If they were to have any hope of taking anything from the game Lossie needed a good start to the second half, but they came close to slipping further behind almost as soon as play restarted. Smith found space on the edge of the area to shoot and saw the ball thump against the crossbar before being cleared.
Five minutes into the second half and it was game on. A Lossie corner on the right was drilled low into the area and Dean Stewart ghosted in to deflect the ball into the net from six yards. At the other end, Lisle sought to win a penalty for the hosts with an acrobatic leap over the leg of Michael Weir, but referee Liam Duncan was having none of it and quickly brandished the yellow card at a sheepish looking Lisle.
Chances in the second half were at a premium as the wind picked up. Logan Ross was somewhat untroubled as Formartine went through the motions, and while Ewan Macdonald was kept on his toes Lossie failed to properly test the big netminder. Ross Archibald drew Macdonald from his line late on when through on goal and lifted the ball over the keeper towards goal only to see it drop the wrong side of the bar. James Leslie appealed for a penalty after getting his feet caught in Macdonald’s hands but referee Duncan was having none of it.
Formartine wrapped up the scoring in the final minute. Once again, their pace up front caught Lossie out and Lisle tore through the middle and beat Ross to the ball on the edge of the area, dipped the shoulder and rounded the keeper before stroking the ball into the net.
Lossiemouth remain fourth from bottom but still within touching distance of mid-table, and will look to improve their position in the table when Fort William visit Grant Park next weekend.
FULL TIME – FORMARTINE UNITED 5-2 LOSSIEMOUTH
TEAMS:
FORMARTINE UNITED – Ewan Macdonald; Jonathan Crawford, Stuart Smith, Stuart Anderson, Kieran Adams (Ryan Spink (46)), Cole Anderson (Kieran Lawrence (46)), Graeme Rodger, Scott Lisle, Jonathan Smith, Aaron Norris, Daniel Park (Christian Antoniazzi (62)); UNUSED SUBS – Andrew Paterson, Ross Clark, Jordan Lynch, Archie Mackay
LOSSIEMOUTH – Logan Ross; Michael Weir, Fergus Edwards, Dean Stewart, Liam Archibald, Connor Macaulay (Niall Kennedy (71)), Ryan Farquhar, Ross Archibald (Aleksander Matczak (84)), Ross Morrison (Fraser Forbes (59)), Lewis McAndrew, James Leslie; UNUSED SUBS – Ryan Stuart, Jared Kennedy, Oliver Kelly
GOALS:
Formartine United – Scott Lisle (1, 89), Jonny Smith (30, 39), Graeme Rodger (41)
Lossiemouth – Fergus Edwards (24), Dean Stewart (53)
REFEREE:
Liam Duncan