Wick Academy 'guys' turn the 5th November heat up on Nairn

6th November 2011

Reporter Noel Donaldson
Wick Academy ....5 Nairn County....3.

WICK Academy will well remember the fifth of November...the only difference was that their plot did go with a bang.

The black and whites were certainly dynamite as they showed fighting spirit and intelligent play, eventually blowing Nairn off the pitch. The Scorries were not expected to beat the title-challenging Station Park side, even after having got their league challenge back on track, seeing off the formidable Formartine, the previous week, and many fans would probably have been content to settle for a draw.

It was Nairn who lit the fuse, in the 90-minute, eight goals cracker, with a Stephen Mackay rocket, midway through the first half, but the lead was quickly snuffed out by the homesters by a Stevie Cunningham leveller, and a brilliantly taken Sam Mackay goal from the acutest of angles prior, to Nairn's Mackay kept his side in the game through an
equaliser.

Sam was again the man in the second half when he slotted home a penalty and Academy went on to increase their lead to 4-2 through a Dale Gillespie-gifted, own goal. Nairn who are purported to have some serious money players in their squad, were looking vulnerable and appearances were not deceptive as Richard Macadie earned a pardon for missing a 'sitter' earlier, by tapping in an Allan cross.

Nairn star, Conor Gethins, who had earlier come off the bench, illustrated that even when struggling with a groin complaint, he could still do the business, bending it like Beckham, over the Academy wall, into Bokas' top corner, but it was all over by then and all that
remained was the prospect of that long, depressing trek, home, over the Ord.

The win lifts Academy into an encouraging 12th place in the league table but the side will have another stiff test next week, and they don't come more demanding than Cove Rangers away.