Depleted Formartine United squad beaten by Keith
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Keith FC 1 Formartine United 0
It was a big ask for Formartine to go to Kynoch Park with a squad so depleted, predominantly by injuries to key players, that they were only able to list three substitutes.
In the end it was too big an ask as the home side made a rather better fist of handling the blustery conditions and grabbing a goal in the 58th minute and were able to hold on grimly to that precious lead with the wind at their backs to collect all three points.
It was experience rather than native ability or organisation that United lacked and although they have a fair abundance of fresh young talent spread across defence, midfield and attack the loss of older heads in each of these departments was acute.
Right back Jonathan Crawford and central midfielder and captain Graeme Rodger have knocking on for 500 United starts to their credit between them while the two missing strikers, Julian Wade and Jonny Smith, have each scored virtually as many goals apiece this season as Keith have between them.
United’s lack of composure up top on a day where a wind of unpredictable strength gusted the length of the pitch cost them dear and contributed to a number of errors, while the sheer energy sapping demands of playing in the wind further drained the match of fluidity and diminished it as a spectacle.
It opened with Formartine playing with the wind and Scott Lisle spearheading a visiting attack that had Mykyta and MacIver playing either side of him.
Keith were the first to show their teeth when Yunus and Mooney combined to work a ball from near halfway by Emmett to the right corner of the box. It initially looked dangerous but United closed ranks smartly enough to thwart any further progress.
At the other end United managed two or three balls played into the heart of the home midfield that were clearly intended for the speedy Lisle to run onto.
These were over struck and reached a home back line led by Robertson before their intended recipient.
However, despite difficulties in range-finding United were beginning to mount some pressure and play was predominantly in home territory.
Norris regularly supplied Mykyta who managed a number of right to left diagonal balls to the area around and beyond the back post.
Stuart Smith got his head to one in the 16th minute but it went a foot or two high and Lisle got hold of a couple, one of which flew wide right and another of which drew a good diving save low at the base of the right upright.
This pattern of slightly superior possession and territorial advantage by Formartine was occasionally interspersed by speedy but determined looking breaks by the home side.
Emmett more or less wrestled his way past Norris, hauling him off the ball in the process of crossing it left to right for Mooney who from just inside the right corner of the box tried to lift the ball over the advancing Macdonald. That he achieved but the ball rebounded from the crossbar.
United's efforts from longer range were also unsuccessful as shots from 25 yards or more by MacIver and Gallacher were saved by Reid or went wide.
As the first half progressed United's finishing began to look increasingly nervous and attempts to get their noses in front seemed over elaborate. Their efforts at making a breakthrough regularly failed when an extra touch by the forward in possession delayed the shot long enough for a well drilled defence to intervene.
This seemed to increase anxiety and the more that rose the more the extra touches were deployed. It was lack of composure more than lack of opportunity that was the issue.
By half-time United had spurned enough chances to have got into a leading position to face playing against the wind in the second half with confidence.
The change to playing with wind advantage saw Keith's confidence rise and produced an opening flurry of attacks none of which looked like seriously threatening to United.
Macdonald made a decent save from a Killoh drive but generally their attacks did not get the length of challenging him.
That changed in the 59th minute when after a small spell of United pressure, Keith broke down the left through Emmett and Abdulkarim who slipped the ball forward left to Mooney. He scorched through the inside left channel before driving the ball low past Macdonald for the game’s only goal.
Formartine threw everything at restoring their fortunes but still lacked the composure to do so. Sub Lynch got one-on-one with keeper Reid but the custodian won with a brave dive to snatch the ball from the forward’s feet at the left edge of the six-yard box.
In the 83rd minute a period of United pressure ended when Cole Anderson managed to drive the ball into the net from very close range only for it to be chalked off for offside. A home defender was clearly ahead of the sub when he got the ball but with the keeper in the midst of the action it did not follow that forward was necessarily on-side.
This was a sore one for United but injury crises are by there nature short-term and there are indications that they will shortly be restored to full strength or near to it.
