SFA Youth Cup: Fraserburgh 0-8 Inverness CT
By Grant Milne:Fraserburgh Youth Coach Alex Mair instructed his players not to be downhearted after being knocked out of the Scottish Youth Cup, despite going down 8-0 to a strong Inverness Caley side at Bellslea Park.
The home side had matched their SPL counterparts for the opening periods of the game before Matty Cooper and Ferguson Calum gave the visitors a two-goal advantage at the break. Ryan Christie and Martin Laine added to that tally just after the hour mark before a deluge of goals in the final ten minutes (a brace apiece for Christie and Kyle Whyte) rounded off the scoring in what could be described as a comfortable victory for Inverness.
Mair said of his young players: “Considering the opposition are full-time players and the pace and movement which was part of their game can only come through full-time football. At 2-0, we felt we should push on and give ourselves a chance of scoring, however by doing that we created so much more space for them at the other end of the park. In the first-half we were more compact and contained them easier. It is a great learning process for our guys that want to push into our first-team which is what we are looking for, and getting the opportunity to play against an SPL side where some of their players are in the first team pool is a fantastic experience for our guys.”
Fraserburgh kicked off with no fewer than eight players in the starting line-up which have featured in the first-team over the past year, a sign of the excellent youth conveyer belt which the club has never failed to bear fruit from in the past two decades, with Marc Noble lining up against his former suitors at centre-half.
It took the best part of twenty minutes for Caley to take the lead against their Highland League counterparts under the watchful eye of coach Duncan Shearer, Ryan Watson’s corner posed problems for goalkeeper Joe Barbour and the ball came down to Matty Cooper at the back post who finished into the roof of the net from close-range. Inverness were in full-flow and added a second ten minutes later, Calum Ferguson with a fantastic turn past his marker and firing beyond Barbour at the edge of the area.
The second half began as the first had ended with Barbour’s goal being peppered with shots, the 19-year old kept busy for the duration of the afternoon as Polworth and Watson came close on a couple of occasions, before the stopper made a fine save from Cooper’s deflected effort.
But predictably, it was only a matter of time before ICT added to the scoreline, Cooper’s cutback being swept home by Ryan Christie at the edge of the area, before Christie turned provider setting up Martin Laine after his angled run who hit a strong attempt past Barbour from just inside the penalty area.
However, Fraserburgh attempted to brave the storm and looked to snatch a morale-boosting goal against the flow of play, Courtney Cooper coming closest for the Broch with a long-range strike that Scott Mathieson in Caley’s goal was equal to.
Inevitably though, it was the fitness of Fraserburgh’s full-time opponents which added the shine to the scoreline, Inverness netting four times in the space of eight minutes late on. Substitute Kyle Whyte was on hand to finish via a rebound after Ali Sutherland’s shot had been blocked, before Whyte assisted Ryan Christie in scoring the fifth after his shot was parried by Barbour into the path of Christie, who then completed his hat-trick in a similar goal to his second. The scoring was then finally wrapped up for the Caley Jag’s young men when Kyle Whyte finished with composure and aplomb from Watson’s through-ball.
Fraserburgh: Barbour (c), Wisely (Reid 69), Cowie, Noble, Buchan, Cooper, Chalmers, Thomson, Ramsay, Davidson, Gibb (Lawrence 69).
Subs: Tait (GK), Heatherwick, Downie.
Inverness CT: Mathieson, Skinner, Murphy, Cooper, MacKenzie, Laine (c), Khutsishviili (Sutherland 69), Polworth, Ferguson (Whyte 75), Christie, Watson.
Subs: MacKay(GK), Cheyne.
Referee: Scott McIntyre
The home side had matched their SPL counterparts for the opening periods of the game before Matty Cooper and Ferguson Calum gave the visitors a two-goal advantage at the break. Ryan Christie and Martin Laine added to that tally just after the hour mark before a deluge of goals in the final ten minutes (a brace apiece for Christie and Kyle Whyte) rounded off the scoring in what could be described as a comfortable victory for Inverness.
Mair said of his young players: “Considering the opposition are full-time players and the pace and movement which was part of their game can only come through full-time football. At 2-0, we felt we should push on and give ourselves a chance of scoring, however by doing that we created so much more space for them at the other end of the park. In the first-half we were more compact and contained them easier. It is a great learning process for our guys that want to push into our first-team which is what we are looking for, and getting the opportunity to play against an SPL side where some of their players are in the first team pool is a fantastic experience for our guys.”
Fraserburgh kicked off with no fewer than eight players in the starting line-up which have featured in the first-team over the past year, a sign of the excellent youth conveyer belt which the club has never failed to bear fruit from in the past two decades, with Marc Noble lining up against his former suitors at centre-half.
It took the best part of twenty minutes for Caley to take the lead against their Highland League counterparts under the watchful eye of coach Duncan Shearer, Ryan Watson’s corner posed problems for goalkeeper Joe Barbour and the ball came down to Matty Cooper at the back post who finished into the roof of the net from close-range. Inverness were in full-flow and added a second ten minutes later, Calum Ferguson with a fantastic turn past his marker and firing beyond Barbour at the edge of the area.
The second half began as the first had ended with Barbour’s goal being peppered with shots, the 19-year old kept busy for the duration of the afternoon as Polworth and Watson came close on a couple of occasions, before the stopper made a fine save from Cooper’s deflected effort.
But predictably, it was only a matter of time before ICT added to the scoreline, Cooper’s cutback being swept home by Ryan Christie at the edge of the area, before Christie turned provider setting up Martin Laine after his angled run who hit a strong attempt past Barbour from just inside the penalty area.
However, Fraserburgh attempted to brave the storm and looked to snatch a morale-boosting goal against the flow of play, Courtney Cooper coming closest for the Broch with a long-range strike that Scott Mathieson in Caley’s goal was equal to.
Inevitably though, it was the fitness of Fraserburgh’s full-time opponents which added the shine to the scoreline, Inverness netting four times in the space of eight minutes late on. Substitute Kyle Whyte was on hand to finish via a rebound after Ali Sutherland’s shot had been blocked, before Whyte assisted Ryan Christie in scoring the fifth after his shot was parried by Barbour into the path of Christie, who then completed his hat-trick in a similar goal to his second. The scoring was then finally wrapped up for the Caley Jag’s young men when Kyle Whyte finished with composure and aplomb from Watson’s through-ball.
Fraserburgh: Barbour (c), Wisely (Reid 69), Cowie, Noble, Buchan, Cooper, Chalmers, Thomson, Ramsay, Davidson, Gibb (Lawrence 69).
Subs: Tait (GK), Heatherwick, Downie.
Inverness CT: Mathieson, Skinner, Murphy, Cooper, MacKenzie, Laine (c), Khutsishviili (Sutherland 69), Polworth, Ferguson (Whyte 75), Christie, Watson.
Subs: MacKay(GK), Cheyne.
Referee: Scott McIntyre
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