Huntly Football Club reach Highland League summit but manager Allan Hale is keeping feet firmly on the Christie Park ground
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Allan Hale is keeping Huntly feet firmly on the ground following their rise to top spot in the league.
The Christie Park manager was thrilled by his team’s 8-0 win over Clach to take them to the summit.
“If you look at our last three games its 15 goals scored and none conceded,” he said. “That is the foundation of a strong team.
“The pleasing thing more than anything else is keeping clean sheets because up until then I don’t think we had managed one all season. But we have looked pretty solid in these three games against good opposition.”
Huntly lead the way on goal difference from Buckie Thistle and Formartine but Hale said: “As much as you enjoy looking at the table just now, it doesn’t mean anything eight games into the season.
“Don’t get me wrong. We are really pleased with the results and it’s the cherry on the cake with results going our way and we found ourselves top of the league.”
Last season, Hale was frustrated by his team’s failure to kill off opponents while in a position of dominance but he pointed to all the work going on at training to increase their goal tally this term.
“We worked hard in pre-season on improving our chance creation and the movement of players. It’s all about getting our flair players into areas where they can impact the game instead of what was happening last season.
“We were dropping so deep and everything was being played in front of the opposition and we didn’t get enough opportunities to cut them open.
“Against Clach, once we got the second and third goals the players went for the jugular and managed to rack up a pretty convincing result in the end.”
It’s the first time since 2009 that the Christie Park side has reached top spot after their biggest home win in 16 years.
Andy Hunter took his goal tally for the season to nine with his second hat-trick of the season.
Hunter poked in the opener after eight minutes on the rebound from a saved Robbie Foster drive. Clach keeper Doug MacLennan pulled off some good stops but was next beaten by one of his own players, Buckie loan defender Sam Morrison looping an effort over him into the net.
Lewis Crosbie lobbed in a third and Alex Thoirs fired home number four, and there was still time before the break for Hunter to nab his second, repeating his free kick goal in the cup at East Stirling with another setpiece.
Hunter notched his third of the game 20 minutes into the second half, and it was Brodie Allen’s turn to get on the scoresheet seven minutes later when he was fouled in the box and got up to score from the spot.
Clach’s misery was completed right at the death when they gave away possession to Michael Dangana, who progressed to fire home a low drive.
"It’s kind of unheard of by Huntly sides in years gone by and especially against Clach who I've have had a horrendous record against," Hale added.
"I think we have only beaten them once since I have been Huntly manager. They played well against Locos so we expected a tough game.
"We want to be a team that is on the front foot and being brave in our approach and we are taking the game to teams. We know in the final third we have that quality and we can cut teams open and create chances and thankfully the conversion rate just now is pretty high.
"But when we attack we’ve got to have a balance that when we lose the ball we are not vulnerable on the counter.
"Our overall structure looks pretty solid and it is pleasing but we are certainly not getting carried away. We’ve got some difficult fixtures coming up and a really tough test on Saturday (at home to Fraserburgh).
"In my case, the game finishes at five o’clock and your head turns towards the next difficult game. There’s no easy games any more and you’ve got to work and run and fight for everything you get.
"That’s what makes the Highland League so good. When you look at the table, the top nine or ten are separated by just five or six points.
"It just goes to show that there is a lot of quality in the league and its very competitive. We are not getting carried away because we know that a couple of poor results will drop us right down the table."
Hale is thrilled by striker Hunter's recent sparkling run of form.
"He’s scored goals throughout his career. He was averaging a goal every two games throughout his career and if you are doing that consistently over ten or eleven years that he has been in the league, you are obviously a very good player.
"He gives us a vocal point at the top end of the pitch, he can hold it in he can link play and go in behind. He can do it all.
"I think we are really lucky because Brodie Allen has been excellent this season and we’ve got Angus (Grant) who is probably frustrated because he is desperate for his opportunity and can’t quite get it at the moment.
"So we are lucky to have three players who are capable of scouring more than double figures in a season.
"Brodie picked up a niggle and Andy got his opportunity to move back up one and to say that he has taken it is an understatement. That’s four games up front and he has scored nine goals, so he’s doing alright!"
