Formartine fail to see off Brechin's attacks
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Formartine United 1 - Brechin City 3
This was the first round of the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup and already the second meeting of these two this season.
Again Brechin prevailed and again Formartine gave an excellent account of themselves in an encounter that was balanced on a knife edge until the last few minutes in a game where a United equaliser had looked more likely than the third goal that Brechin snatched in the 87th minute.
United started in a high press mode harrying the visitors’ attempts at moving the ball about along the backline seeking to build patiently from the back.
United met with some success in this and gained a good share of “second balls” and generally frustrated the visitors’ attempts to establish their pattern of play.
Julian Wade was a pestilent presence whenever his former side’s rearguard were in possession and brought pace, strength and nous to the proceedings.
It was consistent with the run of play that United made an early breakthrough.
Lobban picked up a loose ball left central in his own half and took off down the inside left channel. He was tracked by Moreland and Ferguson but jinked between them and headed for the left side of the Brechin box before clipping the ball into the bath of the advancing WADE who dropped his left shoulder and volleyed the ball right footed past McCabe to net from 10 yards out.
United were loath to let Brechin attempt a quick counter and sustained pressure on the visitors continuing on the front foot on the back of this 8th minute opener.
This persisted for another ten minutes but by then the game became more evenly spread and increasingly took on the
characteristic of a box to box encounter.
Neither keeper was called into significant action and possession was fairly equally distributed between the sides. However Brechin who had been frustrated in their efforts to get the ball into the home penalty area suddenly produced an equaliser with a fizzing shot from a little further out in the 29th. .
On the back of a Formartine push that had been broken up, Brechin mounted an attack that went through a couple of phases before they managed to get the ball to DUELL who from twenty yards out and a touch right of centre leathered it with a bit of did and curl to it well past Macdonald.
This seemed, at least temporarily, to energise the visitors and deflate United and for a spell Brechin were in the driving seat with play conducted mostly in United’s half at the village end with the visitors having the better of possession.
In the 39th minute City got their noses in front.
A speedy break down the inside left route let Brechin flood forward in support of HEENAN . Indecision by home keeper Macdonald saw him abort a move to close down the attacker and left himself stranded in no man’s land in the left centre of the box while Heenan continued past him and slipped the ball into the unguarded net.
This immediately resurrected memories of the previous game when a similar freeze frame moment by the same keeper gifted a share of the points to Buckie.
Brechin continued to look the more confident side unti the interval. United started the second period keen to restore their fortunes and began to pressurise Brechin and incrementally the balance of play tilted their way.
In the 52nd minute a Wade cross and a superb Lobban header from virtually the penalty spot had Knight at full stretch to tip the ball over the top.
The tempo was rising and 3 minutes later a high lunging tackle by White on Stuart Smith resulted in a straight red
for the former and things look set fair for United to go on to equalise.
However their numerical advantage lasted a scant couple of minutes before the referee apparently showing more commitment to” levelling up” than Boris Johnson’s cabinet ever did ,dismissed young Lobban for his challenge on Patrick.
Formartine battled gamely on committing themselves increasingly to the search for the elusive equaliser but despite considerable territorial advantage and the lion’s share of possession found themselves vulnerable to a counter attack. This came in the 87th minute when SCOTT from four or five yards right of the left corner of the box delivered a lethally accurate drive that beat Macdonald at the postage stamp corner to propel The Hedgemen to a second round home tie agains Locos.
