Wick Academy 24 July

[Rasczak]

 

Full time Wick Academy 1 ICT 5. I'll give my views when I get home.

Many thanks for the updates.   Just couldn't go to Wick as working at 7am tomorrow.  Thanks again.

 

 No problem, was a bit worried when I lost the internet access on the phone just when the 5th went in though.

 

It's not that bad coming this far north, you would have been back in Inverness before midnight, unless you came with the team. That said it is a killer going in next day when I have been down to midweek games, so not really worth it for a friendly like this.

[Guest Mahonio]

Pretty good game. I had expected it to be a mainly under 20 team, but there was a bit of experience in each area. Seemed to be set up similar to the 4-2-1-2-1 from last season, Cheyne, Cooper, Gorman and Tremarco along the back, Draper and Devine in front, Ryan Christie in the A.Shinnie role, Ross and Greenhalgh out wide and Evans up top.

 

We started pretty well and got the early goal, a tap-in for Nick Ross after some good work from Greenhalgh and Christie on the left. I almost missed it, saw some advancing as I was posting the team lines, then looked up and there was Nick 3 feet from an open goal, my brother had to tell me who crossed. At least he was better then the announcer who credited the goal to Greenhalgh.

 

Wick had a decent spell and had a great shot that came of the post/crossbar with the keeper well beaten, and another good chance from some bouncing around the box.

 

Our second from Draper was a good shot from just inside the box after a low pass though the middle from Evans, and the third was a great cross from the left about 10 yards inside the Wick half which Evans dispatched well.  Greenhalgh had a good chance from a free kick during this period as well, but it was always curling away but was just a couple of feet wide. Wick came back into it a bit after that and it was pretty even until half time but no great shots of note, although there was a scary moment when a deep cross slipped through MacKay's hands and out for a corner.

 

Half time and a nice pie at a reasonable £1.50.

 

Second half and Sutherland came on at right back and the rest of the defence moved one to the left. Devine seemed to be playing a bit deeper as well and we went more of a 4-1-3-2.

Play was pretty even again, maybe Wick having the better of it, but then Sutherland went on a run up the right, and then fed it in to I think Evans who passed to Christie. It was a little behind him and I thought the chance was gone, but he managed to pull it back and get the shot away and in.

 

The fifth came soon after, nice work on the right from Evans chipped into the centre from the corner of the box and put away by Ali Sutherland. 

 

All a bit scrappy after that for both sides, Wick got through a few times but couldn't get the shot away in time or on target. There were a couple of fiery moments, first when Pepper and a Wick attacker went down together in the ICT box, the whistle went and I thought Pen to Wick, but it went our way, next Pepper and the Wick guy were tangling and the ref was racing in to split them up, just a talking to for both of them though. The next was with just a couple of minutes to go, Draper went in hard in the midfield and a Wick player ended up needing treatment, no foul but Draper did get some treatment from the home fans as well.

 

By this time Brown and Holwarth came on, direct changes for Cheyne and Gorman respectively.

 

Not long after Wick got their goal, no less than they deserved, they had played well, and Barry should have a good season if he can keep some of the trialists.

 

All in all a decent result, better than this time last year when it was 0-0 in the same game, and we do seem to have some options other than the first choices. Evans seems right up there, looking for a shot and getting the ball in good places, Greenhalgh does have a great delivery, though as some have said for other games, he does sometime look to go on himself when the pass would be better. Christie is doing his dad proud and we look to have some good defensive cover. Tremarco doesn't go forward as much as Shinnie, but then it gives the option of Shinnie being able to cover midfield and we don't have to worry about left back cover. As Lizi said elsewhere, the U-20 games could be very good this year as well.

 

Good post :).

 

This is the 1st ever pre season match i've been to, very impressed by Ryan Christie, Ben Greenhalgh and Adam Evans.

 

Wick played quite well as well, especially in possession, can see them having a good season again this season.

[Alex MacLeod]

Who's Holworth?

[Sneckboy]

Calum Howarth. U20 defender.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Very interesting account of the game. Thank you for that.

 

Where in the table did Wick finish last season?

 

How I would love to be there seeing the youngsters develop.  Imagine Christie turning it on in front of his father.  ,,,"Like father, like son".eh?

 

How's the weather there in the north of Scotland? We have had a heatwave here in Southern British Columbia for about 6 weeks or more now and , although it is very nice to feel the sun, the drought is getting interesting also. I think the reservoirs are full enough, however, so no water issues so far.

 

The weather these days is very strange. We have been pummelled by constant rain (that's why the Pacific north west is called the rainforest) all year. Then, completely without warning, abruptly we are into beautiful days with no end in sight with temperatures soaring to new highs. In weather like this this place is so beautiful especially if you are into outdoor activities, hiking, ski-ing, boating and so on.

 

But, the Vancouver Whitecaps got beaten last Saturday by the L.A. Galaxy...hmmm.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Oh, and I hear from my spy contacts in Britain that your T. V. has not been reporting any news from Canada.

 

Well, keep your hats on because I must tell you that, only a few weeks ago, Alberta , the Province adjoining B.C., had so much rain that the entire capital of Calgary was flooded out ,not inches deep but yards. The city declared a state of emergency and 85,000 people were  told to evacuate from the town. I saw one man on T. V.  in the evening  almost in tears stating..."when I passed the river this morning it was 2 feet high and now it is 13 feet deep".

 

Damage on an unimaginable scale.  People have lost their homes and all their possessions, some deeply treasured like photos , etc.

Watching the T.V. , the Red river  was going so fast that it looked like a racehorse--no kidding.  One house came careening down the river and smashed head on into a bridge which was almost flooded up to the deck and  this, mostly wooden ,structure was obliterated in seconds. Just exploded and was still driven under the bridge, not on top of it.

The Calgary stampede show-wbuilding was flooded feet deep and the show which brings in some $350 million dollars a year for the city was almost cancelled in its entirety. Countless numbers of people were ebngage din removing every single seat because the stands had been flooded so high that  nothing was saved.

 

The cost of this disaster apparently runs into billions, not millions, of dollars and the report is that it will take ten years to repair all the damage. Truthfully, folks, you have never seen anything like it and I was sitting watching the reports daily with my jaw dropping open. Awestruck but also scared and found it so heart- rending with deaths and lives completely shredded. When you saw what you thought was a terrible experience happening in front of you it was quickly surpassed by an even more horrible event and so on.

 

I do admit to finding it interesting that the report to me that the BBC never showed it as such. Is this your experience?

 

Just thought you would  like to learn what has been happening over hear.

 

Cheers

S. P.

[Yngwie]

Was Mo in charge again for this game?

[+CaleyD]

Was Mo in charge again for this game?

 

Yeah.

 

Terry has tended to step out of the dugout, leaving it to Mo & Dunc to manage the games where we've had a primarily U20's squad out on the park.

 

The only exception to that was Arbroath as he was out of the country (he's back now).

[Yngwie]

So is it fair to say that we actually perform better without Terry?

 

I'm obviously being    there but we were pretty faultless at Arbroath, and last season our season got going when Terry got banned and we humped Dundee Utd with Mo in charge.

[Rasczak]

 

Was Mo in charge again for this game?

 

Yeah.

 

Terry has tended to step out of the dugout, leaving it to Mo & Dunc to manage the games where we've had a primarily U20's squad out on the park.

 

The only exception to that was Arbroath as he was out of the country (he's back now).

 

 

Scott Kellacher was up last night with Mo. Didn't see Duncan Shearer about.