Rothes 1
Wick Academy 0
League

Match Report

A player emergency saw Wick Academy put out a call for help – but not even club superhero Gary Weir could rescue them from a 1-0 defeat at Rothes. Suspensions, injuries and work commitments all became too much for the Scorries to cover for as they found themselves so low on numbers that Weir had to be talked out of retirement, having hung up his boots at the end of last season. In fairness, Weir had previously said he would don his boots again in an emergency and he was true to his word when he received the call earlier this week – although his 30 minutes from the bench was not enough to cancel out Craig Cormack’s winner for Rothes.
Weir said: “I’m good pals with the club captain Alan Farquhar and he gave me a call to ask if I could turn out as Academy were struggling for numbers.
“I’m still under contract at Wick for the next year so there were no issues about my being registered for this game.
“There were some concerns as I’d not played for a year but I was willing to help out.
“To be fair, it felt as if I’d never left. I sat in the same place on the bus and took my same position in the warm-up.
“As for the match itself, I came on for half an hour.
“I knew I had to pace myself but it didn’t seem too bad in terms to getting myself back up to speed with things.
“Saturday could be a possibility – but only if numbers are short again.
“As for a full comeback – no chance. I’ve a young family now and I’m happy to spend my time with them.
”Also answering the call for help were Ben Sinclair and Greg Mackay from the Scorries’ under-17 team, and manager Tom McKenna was pleased with how they did on their first-team debuts.
He said: “I thought Ben and Greg acquired themselves brilliantly under exceptional circumstances.
“However, they were the only two positives as our performance was disappointing.
“Their goal came when Jamie Wilson just coasted past three of our players and he crossed it to Craig Cormack, who we’d left unmarked, to score.
“We host Cove next and we don’t know what to expect from them. Teams that win the title early usually take their feet off the gas and give some youngsters a run out.
“But on the flip side, any youngsters they may field could be the next big thing so we need to be at our best regardless.”
On the plus side for Academy, four of their players have signed new contracts with the club. Richard Macadie has signed a four-year deal while goalkeeper Sean McCarthy and midfielders Ross Allan and Jack Halliday have committed themselves to another two years at Harmsworth Park

Match report written by John o Groat Journal - Fri, April 20, 2018.