Victory for Turriff Thistle moves team up league table
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Turriff Thistle 3 Lads Club 0
Turriff Thistle added another three valuable points to their tally after a comfortable victory at The Haughs against Lads Club which moves them up to fifth in the Division One North league table.
The Jags controlled the match throughout and two well taken goals from Mitchell Allan in the first half gave them a thoroughly deserved lead at the interval.
Thistle maintained their impressive performance in the second half and should have increased their lead before Greg Miazek pounced in the final 20 minutes to tap in a rebound and put the result beyond doubt.
It must be said, however, that the final score could have been a bit tighter if the Lads Club’s shooting had not been totally abysmal all afternoon.
Thistle made several changes to their starting line-up with Jonny Buist, Neil Chapman, Joe Bisset, Paul Williamson and Lee Stuart all unavailable, however welcomed back Ryan Catto to the back three beside Kian Beaton and Mike McCombie.
Greg Miazek and Regan Fowlie returned to the midfield alongside Mitchell Allan and Andy Carder with youngster Calum Anderson starting on the left and the partnership of Ryan Morrison and Michael Harris spearheading the attack.
Steven Wight and Dan Bruce moved to the bench alongside Bruce Mair, Kyle Chalmers and Colin Bain Jnr.
It was apparent that Thistle were well up for this match straight from the kick-off by the pace they started at, by the way they closed the visitors down whilst in possession and the ferociousness of the tackling as they harried them constantly during the first 15 minutes.
Despite being in total control the Jags could not create any clear scoring chances, however, a few dangerous crosses fired in from both sides of the pitch were confidently dealt with by a clearly competent opposition keeper.
Lads Club's first attack nearly gave them the lead when they broke through on the left in 16 minutes but the final shot was skied well over the Thistle goal.
The Jags deservedly went ahead on 20 minutes when Allan curled in an in-swinging cross from the left-hand side that evaded everyone in the box and flew into the back corner of the net despite the keeper and the right-back both getting the faintest of touches on the ball.
This goal gave a visible confidence boost to Thistle and they maintained the high tempo pressure on their opponents.
On 25 minutes another cross from the left, this time by Morrison, again dropped in at the back post but this time the ball rebounded off it and directly into the keepers’ arms then, on the half-hour, a fierce shot from Harris at the edge of the box was brilliantly palmed round the post by the Lads Club keeper.
Thistle doubled their lead on 33 minutes with a superb solo effort and a strong contender for goal of the season, again from Allan, who picked up the ball at the edge of the box, on the left, and simply swept past three defenders before lifting it over the advancing keeper and into the far corner of the net.
This delightful goal was well appreciated with the level of celebration from the entire team and the side-lines.
The Jags should have added to their lead on 35 minutes when Miazek drove through the centre of the pitch before laying the ball off to Harris on his right but the keeper was out quickly to block the shot from point blank range.
As the first half drew to an end a Lads Club cross from the left was poorly punched out by Jordan Ogg, however, the striker had a wild swipe at the ball from only five yards and lashed it well wide of the target.
Thistle counter attacked immediately and a cross from Morrison on the left found Allan rushing into the six-yard box but his brilliant flick was superbly pushed out by the keeper who then pulled off a double save when Harris blasted in the rebound.
The first half eventually finished with the Jags winning five corner-kicks but could not capitalise further on their constant pressure.
The second half began with Thistle still in command and looking to put the game to bed as soon as possible.
Allan was on the prowl eager to complete his hat-trick and on 54 minutes he met another Harris cross at the near post but his effort was ushered past by a combination of the keeper and two defenders.
A minute later Fowlie burst through the middle but his shot flew straight at the keeper who held it well.
On 58 minutes Anderson was forced off with a dead-leg and replaced by Dan Bruce.
Harris then drove down the left before cutting in but his shot flew over the bar.
Thistle secured all three points with a third goal on 72 minutes after a Miazek drive forward was ended when he was brought down at the edge of the box. Harris and Morrison lined up at the free-kick but it was Harris’ right foot that curled the ball round the defensive wall only to see it bounce off the inside of the post and roll out to Miazek who had the simplest of tasks to side foot it into the net.
Miazek called it a day before the restart and was replaced by Mair who was immediately in the action when a McCombie through-ball put him in the clear but the referee blew for offside.
On 77 minutes Bain Jnr came on for Fowlie with Bruce switching to the right and nearly scored number four two minutes later with a 20 yarder that looked to be heading into the top left corner before drifting away narrowly past the post.
A newly booked Beaton was replaced by Chalmers with Morrison moving back to defence, Mair moving forward to partner Harris and Chalmers slotting in at centre midfield.
Thistle continued to press forward in search of more goals and on 84 minutes Harris burst through the Lads Club defence but must have realised that he was not going to get on the scoresheet that day when his first shot bounced off the keeper then his second, from the rebound, was blocked by a covering defender and, finally, his third attempt scraped past the wrong side of the post.
The final chance for the Jags came on 87 minutes when a Chalmers pass put Bruce in on goal on the right but the keeper was again out swiftly to block the ball at his feet.
A last precautionary substitution for Thistle saw Wight come on for McCombie who had picked up a slight niggle, however, the match ran its course without any further action of note.
This was a very confident and competent team performance from the entire Thistle squad and manager, Matthew Sim, will be expecting this level of consistency from them for all the remaining fixtures.
It was also pleasing to see an improvement in the club’s young players who are experiencing their first season at amateur level with Catto striding effortlessly through the entire 90 minutes, Anderson putting in a solid starting performance before being forced off with an injury and Mair, Bain Jnr and Chalmers all contributing to an excellent victory when required.
