Fraser fitness a fillip after 'fair draw'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Forres Mechanics 2 Deveronvale 2
The final home game of the 2012-2013 season delivered plenty of entertainment for the supporters but for Can Cans boss Charlie Rowley this was another game invested in Lee Fraser. The big striker came through another 90 minutes as he cashes in on his early return as the Mechanics look towards the 2013-2014 jackpot.
Rowley has refused to gamble with the fitness of the star striker but is already looking forward to seeing him reaping the dividends in pre-season and beyond. “Every minute that he plays from now to the end of the season is money in the bank and it was always our intention to get him and ready for next season so it is a real bonus that he is performing well this season and when he gets a good pre-season under his belt he will be a real asset for us next season”.
Looking at the game the manager reflected that, given the balance of play, a draw was probably the correct result on the day. “I feel that a draw was the right result. Deveronvale are a good side but they never put us under any real pressure during the ninety minutes and I am happy with the draw”.
“The game seemed to me like a typical end-of-season match as both sides had little to play but having said that there were four goals and they provided plenty of entertainment for the fans which is important. That is two draws with Deveronvale we have had over the season, so I am pleased with our performances against them.”
Forres had few injury worries coming into the game, with both Nathan Sharp, Martin McMullan and Scott Lawrie returning against Huntly after their injury problems. However mid-way through the first half Simon Allan was forced off after a clash in the Deveronvale eighteen-yard box, but Charlie wasn’t worried about his condition.
“He will obviously need to be assessed but he only went over on his ankle and it doesn’t look like anything too serious as he has had the same injury before. Hopefully he will be back in training after 7-10 days and playing in two weeks time but at this stage in the season I am not going to be risking playing any of my players if they are unfit”.
The team was largely unchanged from the win against Huntly last time out as they looked to build on that success. However it was the away who flew out of the traps to open the scoring on two minutes after Craig Cowie fed the ball through to Graeme Watt and he held off one challenge to stroke the ball home in off Stuart Knight’s right hand post.
After the home side spurned three good chances, courtesy of Nathan Sharp, Martin McMullan and Lee Fraser, they finally found an equaliser when Scott Lawrie emphatically despatched a penalty on the half hour mark which was given for a handball by Scott Henry.
Vale keeper Darren McConnachie was well tested four minutes after the break when he had to sprawl to his right hand side to get fingertips to a 7-yard header by Martin McMullan from a Scott Lawrie cross.
Three minutes later Forres took the lead when substitute Scott Moore hit the ball across the keeper into the bottom right hand corner from 8 yards after being well picked out by Duncan Jones after he received the ball on the right hand of the box fifteen yards out.
However the lead didn’t last long as Deveronvale fought their back in the match ten minutes later. As there was seemingly no dangerous the Can-Cans allowed Graeme Rodger to throw the ball into play to right-back Connor Rennie, but then he unleashed a looping cross-come-shot on goal and the ball flew over helpless Stuart Knight’s head into the top left hand corner.
Both teams had great chances to steal the win. On sixty five minutes Vale substitute Craig Morrison crossed the ball in from the right wing, allowing Watt to hit a first-time shot from 5 yards to force Knight into a great, instinctive save at his near post.
Two minutes later Duncan Jones nearly caught out McConnachie at his near post with a free kick nineteen yards out on the left wing. The final quarter of the game seemed to fizzle out as both teams seemed content with the point that they each had gathered.
Forres Mechanics: S. Knight, G. Fraser, S. Allan (S. Moore 31) , G. Grant, N. Sharp, D. Jones (R. Archibald 75), M. McMullan, S. Lawrie, L. Fraser, K. Scott, C. McGovern. Unused subs: S. Fraser, R. MacKintosh, S. McIntosh.
Scorers: S. Lawrie (30), S. Moore (52)
Booked: McMullan (39), Grant (90+2) Sent Off: -
Deveronvale: D. McConnachie, C. Rennie, K. Adams, S. Henry, S. Fraser, C. Cowie, C. Charlesworth (C. Duncan 75), J. Urquhart (C. Morrison 52), G.Watt, M. Charlesworth (R. Morrice), G. Rodger. Unused subs: T. Hutchinson, P. Watt.
Scorers: G.Watt (2), C. Rennie (62)
Booked: - Sent Off: -
Referee: Graham Elder
Gazette Gold Star: While it is often the outfield players who are in the spotlight on Saturday it was former Deveronvale goalkeeper Stuart Knight who was top of the class as he thwarted his former charges. Knighty pulled off some great saves when called upon to ensure that the Can-Cans came away from the game with a point.
Two of the Player of the Year awards were presented following Saturday’s match against the Vale. The Supporters Player of the Year award went to Graeme “Grapies” Grant for the second year running while utility man Kyle Scott picked up the Maurice Hickey Award, which uses the sponsors Man of the Match choices over the course of the season to identify the most consistent home performer for the season.
The Mechanics will now head to Grantown this coming Saturday to face Strathspey Thistle before trips to Formartine United and Buckie Thistle on consecutive Saturdays to round off the campaign.
