Fort earn point at Wick in week of mixed results
GOALKEEPER Martin MacKinnon was the hero for Fort William last Wednesday night as Fort William picked up just their third point of the season after a well-deserved draw away to Wick Academy. The young stopper put in a man-ofthe-match performance, which included a second-half penalty save, to help secure a valuable point for the Lochaber club.
The Fort set the tone of the match early on and looked to cause Wick problems right from the kick-off, evidenced by defender Lewis Campbell’s booking after just three minutes.
From then on, Fort William exerted their influence on the match and kept the Wick forwards at bay.
The first goal of the match came after 20 minutes when Fort forward John Treasurer broke free to score.
Following the half-time break, Wick Academy almost got a breakthrough after winning a penalty.
Wick forward Richard Macadie stepped up to take the penalty kick but was denied by a great save from MacKinnon to keep the score at 1-0.
It wasn’t long before MacKinnon was called into action again and had to be at his best to make a double save from Wick’s Craig Gunn.
On the 77th minute mark, forward Steven Andersen finally made the breakthrough for Wick.
Andersen quickly doubled his tally to put the home side in front just two minutes later.
Fort William were not ready to give in, however, and, just five minutes later, Michael Gillespie scored their second goal of the game to level the score.
That goal secured a hardfought draw for the Fort, a result which will give them some confidence going into the final stages of the season. FORT William were unable to build on their midweek heroics away to Wick as they slipped to a six-goal defeat at home to this year’s Highland League cup winners Formartine on Saturday.
The Fort were forced into a few changes to their starting line-up, most notably they had to do without goalkeeper Martin MacKinnon. Robin Harvey deputised between the sticks.
A five-minute spell in the first half dashed the Fort’s hopes of an upset. Scott Barbour scored a double for the visitors in the 24th and 28th minutes, before Graeme Rodger made it three just a minute later.
With the score remaining at 3-0 for the rest of the first half, there was always a slim chance of a Fort William comeback but Formartine’s in-form forward line weren’t finished for the day.
Barbour secured his hat-trick just under 10 minutes into the second half, while Conor Gethins got his name on the scoresheet before the hour mark. Andrew Greig rounded off the scoring for United and made it 6-0 to the visitors.
The Fort are away to Formartine again this Saturday, April 21, for the return fixture.