Opponents will raise their game against Wick Groats, warns Ross
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Wick Groats need to be aware that other teams will raise their game when they come up against the reigning champions, according to the club’s assistant manager Stewart Ross.
Groats fell behind in the first half before running out 3-1 winners over Wick Thistle in Friday night’s Caithness AFA first division derby at the Upper Bignold.
“Thistle have got some mature boys as well as a lot of younger boys that they’re trying to bring through, which is the right thing to do,” Ross said.
“There wasn’t any pressure on them, but our boys have got to understand that teams like that are going to raise their game against us.
“It doesn’t matter what results they have against other teams, we can’t go into games with preconceptions of what we think is going to happen. We’ve got to make sure that we earn the right every single time.
“If you don’t, against a team like that, this is what can happen – a simple lapse of concentration, nobody marking, they go 1-0 up and all of a sudden the pressure is on.”
The Jags went ahead midway through the first half when Craig Gunn’s free kick was knocked in at the back post by his brother Marc.
Jonah Martens slotted in the equaliser three minutes later.
Groats left it late before wrapping up the three points. John Budge bundled the ball in from close range, then Steven Sutherland got a goal against his former club with a well-directed header from a corner.
“It was maybe a sweet moment for him to get a goal against them,” Ross said.
He added: “Our subs made a difference when they went on.
“We were a bit flat in the first half and we weren’t quite getting the shape that we were wanting. We weren’t quite getting the width, we weren’t quite getting in between the lines.
“When we made the changes it kind of changed the dynamic a little bit.
“Steven Anderson is another one that we're just trying to get minutes into. He’ll get better with the more time that he plays, the more touches he gets and the more goals he scores.”
Fellow striker Liam Bremner, who is working his way back from a serious injury, was rested.
“He was a wee bit sore after the Highland Amateur Cup game against Acks up there,” Ross explained. “The soft pitch took it out of him.
“He’s quite sensible, he knows his body as well. He’ll be back next week, hopefully.
“We’ve got a lot of boys in our squad and it’s difficult to keep everybody happy. Young Alfie [Miller] came in tonight and never put a foot wrong again – he looked very accomplished. He’s got a good level head on him, he picks a good pass and he’s very calm in possession.”
Thistle had a strong-looking penalty claim waved aside with the score at 1-1, albeit Groats had a spot-kick appeal of their own soon after.
Thistle manager Owen Harrold said: “It’s down to fine margins.
“If we got that penalty then it’s our tails that are up. We had a good chance at 1-1 as well.
“We just need to start learning that there are little things that we need to pick up on. I think it was a vast improvement on when we played Lybster [a 6-3 defeat] and we just need to keep building, because we are a young team.
“We ran out of steam. When you put that much effort in, it kind of knocks the stuffing out of you when they score the second goal.”
Results – Friday – Division One: John O’Groats 2, Pentland United 3; Lybster 1, High Ormlie Hotspur 4; Wick Thistle 1, Wick Groats 3. Division Two: Acks 2, Swifts 2.
Saturday – Division One: Staxigoe United 0, Castletown 0. Division Two: Watten 4, Pentland 1.
Fixtures – Tuesday, April 30 – Colin Macleod Memorial Cup, round one: Acks v Pentland; High Ormlie Hotspur v Wick Thistle; Watten v Halkirk; Wick Groats v Keiss (all 6.30pm).
Wednesday, May 1 – Colin Macleod Memorial Cup, round one: Castletown v Lybster; Staxigoe United v John O’Groats; Swifts v Top Joe’s (all 6.30pm).
Quarter-finals on May 3 and 4 (one tie on Friday, three on Saturday).
