Fort William boss Ewen warns of wounded Wick Academy
FORT William boss Ally Ewen insisted his depleted side will have a good go at Wick Academy this Saturday – although he believes the Scorries will be out for retribution.
One of the highlights of last season for Fort was a sensational 3-2 comeback victory at Claggan Park against Gordon Connelly’s side in March.
Now the West Highlanders are getting set for a trip North to Harmsworth Park to take on a wounded animal.
Ewen was planning to the rule over Wick last night (Wednesday) as they won 2-1 at Clach in the last eight of the North of Scotland Cup.
He said: "We’ll certainly give them a game. I don’t think they’re firing on all cylinders yet this season.
"When we played them up there last time (in a 3-0 defeat), Sam Mackay was outstanding.
"It was 1-0 to them when he came off the bench but he completely made the difference. At times he was unplayable.
"They’re a good side, they ran Formartine United close at the weekend (in a 2-1 defeat).
"We stopped them finishing third last season, so I think they’ll certainly be out for retribution."
Ewen is hopeful that Robin Harvey, Danny Mackintosh, Kieran Forbes, Scott White and Barna Tot will be available this weekend. Iain Foggo, Dougie MacLennan, Darren Quigg and Craig Mainland will remain unavailable.
In total, Ewen had an astonishing 14 players out for the visit of Inverurie Locos last weekend, a clash which his troops lost 4-0.
Despite the result, Ewen was upbeat about his side’s performance and felt the scoreline flattered Inverurie.
Jordan Leyden opened the scoring for the visitors after 23 minutes when his weak effort squirmed through the grasp of Martin Taylor, who was drafted in to play in goal after injuries to three goalkeepers – Robin Harvey, Dougie MacLennan and Richie Munro.
The lead was doubled on 56 minutes when John Maitland headed home and four minutes later it was three when Gordon Forsyth found the net. Joe McCabe’s 78th minute strike completed a tough day at the office for Fort.
Ewen said: "I thought there was a marked improvement from the game against Forres Mechanics last week (a 6-0 defeat).
"We tried to play football and took the game to them.
"We had three goalkeepers out injured and we’re grateful to Martin Taylor for coming down to help us at the last minute.
"The first goal went through the goalkeeper’s hands and the last one I thought was a foul on the goalkeeper.
"The other two came from sloppy defending but I can’t fault the effort from the players. All I asked was that we gave them a game and we did that."
A few players earned special mentions from the manager, who expects his side will improve with the return of a few key men.
He added: "David Moffat at centre half had his best game, I thought, since signing for us.
"Stefan MacRitchie also played very well in midfield for us. He’s coming back from injury and he’s only 19, but he added the bit of bite in midfield that was lacking against Forres.
"Farquhar Macrae looked comfortable at right back as well and he’s not played in the Highland League before."
It’s been a tough start to the season for Fort, with several players missing each week, but Ewen didn’t call their commitment into question.
He said: "This week there was a mixture of things – work, holidays, Belladrum, a family bereavement and I think a lad from Fort William was having his stag do, so some of the local players were at that.
"With the season starting earlier and all these things it’s just bad luck, it’s certainly not down to a lack of commitment from the players.
"I spoke to Calum MacLean (ex-Fort boss) the other day and he couldn’t believe how tough it’s been at the start."
The club opted not to sign midfielder Ryan MacLeod this season, with the youngster joining junior side Grantown FC.