Cans in command set their sights on cup

Forres successfully booked their place in the semi finals of the AJG Parcels North of Scotland Cup with a thoroughly merited 3-0 victory over Lossiemouth at Grant Park on Wednesday night.

There was little between the two sides in the opening half with both teams having their spells in the game. Forres took the lead in the 26th minute when Scott Moore was adjudged to have been brought down by Grant Mitchell in the penalty area and Scott Lawrie duly slotted the spot kick calmly past Errol Watson.

There were loud protests from the homesters and it was, at best, a soft award however those of the Can Cans persuasion were quick to point out that they really should have had a penalty just two minutes earlier for a blatant shirt pull in the area.

The highlight for Lossie was a goal from Chris Ross ten minutes later but the former Mechanics and Thistle centre back was thwarted by the offside flag and it was the Chocolate and Golds who went in at the break a goal up.

A flurry of goalmouth action early in the second half saw this game done and dusted within a matter of minutes. Craig McGovern made it 2-0 when he took the ball at the edge of the box, moved it onto his left foot then drilled and unstoppable low effort into the bottom corner of the net.

Moments later Scott Moore was scythed down by Kev Flett (who was to receive his marching orders later in the game) but this time Scott Lawrie’s penalty was saved by Watson as the striker shot centrally.

It was irrelevant as it happened because when a clearance fell into the path of Simon Allan 28 yards from goal he sent an exocet into the far corner of the net with the keeper’s decision to dive proving to be a waste of effort. It was as sweet a strike as you could hope to see and it sent the Mechanics threw.

The remainder of the game saw Forres control the match and for long spells the ball too as they completed a second consecutive clean sheet with ease. For manager Charlie Rowley it was a pleasing performance.

He began, “The objective of any cup tie is to progress and we won the game but the manner in which we won was really pleasing. Lossie are always a threat, they have got quick players up front but I thought we dominated for long spells and in the end it was a comfortable victory.

“The penalty we got wasn’t a penalty but we should have had one just minutes earlier for a clear pull so it balanced out in the end. The goals that we scored in the second half were good enough to grace any level of the game.”

Lossiemouth: E Watson, A Ross, S Wilson, S Ross, G Mitchell (S Miller 26), K Flett, L Archibald, G Watson (S Gordon 78), R Wardrop, M Davidson, D Bailey (J Main 75) Subs: Macdonald, Robertson

Forres Mechanics: S Knight, S Allan, P Smith, G Grant, S Fraser, D Jones (G Fraser 58), S Moore (A Howard 75), R Mackintosh, S Lawrie (R Archibald 58), A Fraser, C McGovern Subs: R Green

Referee: C Sim

Gazette Gold Star: Scott Moore was, typically, a menace throughout his 75 minutes on the park. He earned two penalty kicks and was always involved in what was a solid display by the Can Cans.