Formartine fire six past Rothes

Formartine United 6 - Rothes 1

A brief perusal of the team lines and a smidgin of knowledge about the recent history of Rothes would provide some indication of the overwhelmimigly one sided nature of this late season league game, one where the exceedingly blustery conditions did neither side any favours. Rothes are under new management having parted company with Ross Jack who left the Speysiders after a period of reasonable success which had seen the club rise from a persistent presence in the nether regions to the respectability of regular inclusion in the group of clubs that oscillate between tugging at the coat tails of title contenders and midtable. The new manager, Canadian Richard Hastings has been in place for barely a month and as this was Rothes’ final game of the season whatever anyone connected with Rothes were going to take from this game was going to be of significance for next season only. In the event they were unable to list more than three outfield players on the bench.

Despite starting with a strong wind at their backs they were a goal down in two minutes and two behind four later. They lacked both the capacity and apparently the appetite to contain the pace and aggression of United’s opening salvo. Emslie took off down the left flank at pace and easily found his way past Thomson who never got near enough to get in a block or a tackle before the forward had picked his spot to deliver a perfectly weighted cross for REID to head powerfully past keeper McCcarthy . . it was a well worked and well taken goal but the level of resistance to it was disappointingly effete.

The next showed the visitors’ continuing inability to prevent dangerous crosses reaching their goal mouth and as REID set himself to bang home a cross from his left , Milne bundled him off the ball yielding a penalty that the striker converted himself driving the ball low to the left as the keeper dived the other way. Reid’s hat trick was completed in the 24th minute when he collected the ball about 30 yards out and spun off left with it before closing in to his right and skelping the ball home low and hard across the line of the diving keeper

At this point it was beginning to look like UnIted were well placed to rack up a big win and that Rothes lacked the will and/ or resources to do much about it. The match continued in this vein until the effects of the wind contributed to a specular looking albeit rather freakish counter by Rothes. A free kick from right central midfield four or five yards right of centre and the same into United territory was launched into wind by Milne and found its way into the top left corner of the net

United dominance continued from the restart and Scott Lisle who had replaced Wade following an injury to the lattter during warm up showed his eagerness to extend his considerable gaul haul notched the first of a brace with a low fizzing drive from 12 yards out in the aftermath of a corner which Rothes had struggled to clear. Just after the hour mark skipper Rodger racked up the fifth with a blistering low angled drive from fifteen yards .

The game was well beyond Rothes by now and it was left to LiISLE to draw a line under their misery with the concluding goal shortly after. Pressing the visitors about 30 yards out and keeping at it until they had possession, United created enough of a gap to get the ball to Hanratty to slip it forward for LiISLE to collect , turn and drive low past keeper McCarthy.

This game completes Rothes’ season but United have two further games -against Locos and Deveronvale in that order

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