Turriff Thistle 0 - Fraserburgh United 6
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Turriff Thistle welcomed North First Division Junior club Fraserburgh United to the Haughs on Saturday and fell to their second six-nil defeat in four days.
With Mike McCombie (groin) and Neil Chapman (ribs) joining Mo Morrison (ankle) on the injury list and Paul Williamson, Daniel and Daryn Bruce unavailable, the Jags were glad to welcome back Andy Paton, Steven Wight and Mitchell Reid to the squad.
The match kicked off in dry conditions although it was plain to see that the pitch was looking thick and sticky.
Within the first minute Michael Williams was taken down from behind as he nipped forward but Wight’s free kick was well saved.
In five minutes a Williams corner from the left dropped perfectly for Ryan Morrison bu this on-target volley was blocked by a defender who knew little about it.
A minute later and Fraserburgh broke through the Jags defence but Jordon Ogg was out to block the shot.
Another minute later and Fraserburgh repeated the same move, however, this time Ogg was judged to have taken down the player and the penalty was awarded, although the referee was assisted in his decision by the theatrical dive and the bloodcurdling scream from the striker.
The resultant spot-kick was confidently dispatched and the Jags were behind.
The game got bogged down in midfield for the next 15 minutes until Fraserburgh broke away on the left, drove in a low cross to the centre and slotted home into the Jag’s net for their second.
Thistle hit back in 32 minutes when Lewis Hendry slipped the ball into the middle for Michael Williams to hit a low shot that was well saved.
The Jags maintained this good passage of play and in 39 minutes Williams crossed in from the left but the final touch was missed by both Greg Miazek and Andy Paton in the centre.
As the end of the first half approached a Fraserburgh shot was saved low at the post by Ogg then the keeper was up to smother the rebound.
Joe Bisset, Mitchell Reid and Jay Robertson came on for the second half in place of Williams, Dan Sorley and Hendry but the Jags were caught out straight from the re- start with a ball through the middle and found themselves three behind.
Thistle were creating as many chances as Fraserburgh and in 55 minutes Wight saw another shot well saved before he came off for Sorley to return.
A Bisset corner was then headed over by Regan Fowlie before, at the other end, a brilliant tackle by Mitchell Allan, in his own box, unluckily ran straight to an unmarked striker to score a fourth goal for Fraserburgh.
The Jags made rolling substitutions with Williams and Hendry returning in place of Fowlie and Miazek before Lewis Cheyne came on for Ogg.
In 73 minutes Reid made space for himself on the left before cutting inside and driving a low, angular shot across the keeper and into the far corner of the net, however, the goal was disallowed for Bisset in the keeper’s vision in an offside position.
Fraserburgh added a fifth goal with a fierce shot from the left then Cheyne pulled off a superb save to block a shot from the right.
Thistle kept pushing forward and in the final ten minutes Allan powered up the right before crossing to Robertson who rolled the ball on to Hendry and his shot flew past the wrong side of the post.
A long ball from Williams found Fowlie on the left and he turned his man brilliantly but saw his shot well saved by the Fraserburgh keeper.
The visitors added a sixth and final goal in 86 minutes when the tyring Jags were outnumbered at the back and the ball was poked into the net.
This was another step up in class for Thistle who were not as impressive as they were against Deveronside, however, the heavy pitch took its toll on both teams.
Turriff Thistle: Jordan Ogg(Lewis Cheyne 70), Mitchell Allan, Kian Beaton, Andy Paton, Steven Wight, Greg Miazek, Ryan Morrison, Lewis Hendry(Joe Bisset 45), Regan Fowlie, Dan Sorley(Mitchell Reid 45), Michael Williams(Jay Robertson 45)
Fixture News: Turriff Thistle’s final pre-season fixture will see Tarves from the Amateur Premier Division visit the Haughs on Saturday at 1.30pm.
