Thurso 5 V Bonar Bridge 0 – Saturday the 13^th of March 2004 – MSIS NCL – Report by Iain Grant

Thurso extended their unbeaten run to nine games with their clinical dismantling of the MSIS North Caley League basement side at the Dammies on Saturday.

The sequence of eight wins and a draw has seen the Vikings rattle in 35 goals for the loss of three.

It is the kind of form from a side you would expect to be in the shake-up for the final furlongs of the league run-in.

But several early reverses, including an early loss in Bonar, have proved fatal to the cause of last year's title winners.

The defining setback was their last defeat on the last Saturday in November, 3-1 to Golspie, who are now firmly on course to land the championship.

With Vikings manager Duncan Gray out of commission, Gus Mackay took over the reins for Saturday's tussle.

It proved a contest for the first half-hour during which the visitors pressed hard to cancel out Alan Murray's early opener.

But their challenge fizzled out after they were hit by two goals in five minutes.

A fourth just before the break further sapped their resistance and the only surprise was that Thurso did not reflect their complete dominance with more than one strike after the interval.

Throughout the afternoon, Thurso impressed with some thoughtful build-up play and skilled execution.   

The latter but not the former was reflected in the opening goal.

After a couple of corners had come to nothing, there seemed no danger when Shaun Forbes gathered the ball in the centre circle.

A punt, more in hope than expectation, eluded two defenders and provided Murray with an obstructed run on goal.

The striker still had a lot to do and he did well to step past keeper David Argyll and from an acute angle steer the ball netward.

The setback nettled Bonar into a feisty response and within a minute Ross Newton's snap shot from the end of the box provided the first test for Thurso keeper Jack Mackay.

Neil MacRae then set up Christopher MacKenzie whose would-be finish trickled past the right post.

Mackay had an anxious moment on 10 minutes when he spilled a corner, with the keeper's blushes spared when Kevin Munro's follow-up drive flashed just wide.

Thurso sparked back into life with the left flank a fertile territory down which to launch attacks.

Nigel MacKenzie was to give his supposed markers a torrid time as time and again, he bamboozled and wrongfooted them with his pace and repertoire of tricks.

After 17 minutes, MacKenzie went close to heading his side two in front after Murray turned provider.

Thurso's revamped defence was looking decidedly fragile and there was collective relief

when the rearguard was not punished for going AWOL after 19 minutes.

Newton's would-be chip of Mackay lacked pith and Kevin Morris was able to make a comfortable clearance.

A minute later, a driven free-kick from Bonar's Craig Caunter deflected off Kevin Warner

for a corner.

It was to prove Bonar's last threat as the home side finally clicked into gear and recaptured their flowing style of recent games.

After 23 minutes, Gordie Reid's flying header from a Gavin Bremner corner was scrambled off the line.

Bonar's goal was coming under severe pressure with the Sutherland side defending deeper and deeper.

After 29 minutes, Bremner was unlucky when his 25 yard grounder cracked back of the outside of the right upright.

A minute later, the second goal arrived after good work by Phil Makhouli down the right.

He found Murray who in turn set up MacKenzie who steadied himself with his first touch before his second found the gap between Argyll and the right-hand post.

It was no surprise that two became three four minutes later.

Brian Gray was the architect with a long cross-field cross which arrived awkwardly for the inrushing Makhouli six yards out. 

Makhouli send the ball arcing over Argyll with an improvised flick of the outside of his right foot.

Bonar's earlier flurry was becoming a distant memory and they fell four behind three minutes from the break.

A sweeping upfield move saw Murray again involved in the set-up before Mackenzie unleashed a fierce, angled drive.

Argyll did well to parry the ball against the bar with Munro unlucky to find himself in the path of the rebound to score an own goal.

Referee Willie Sinclair's concern about a colour clash led to Thurso replacing their red jerseys at the interval break with blue.

The switch did not change the pattern of the game, with the eager home side keen to

press home their all-round advantage.

After 48 minutes, Bremner was again denied by the woodwork with his free-kick cracking back off the bar and Argyll saving Forbes's follow-up.

Argyll then did well to deny Makhouli and then produced the save of the day as he acrobatically leapt to keep out Bremner's near-post header.

The fifth goal after 62 minutes was notched by substitute Luke Cassidy who had the easy job of heading in from close range after MacKenzie's fizzing 25 yarder cannoned back off the cross-bar.

Warner missed a snip and young sub Graham Angus headed just wide after another piece of wing wizardry from MacKenzie.

The hard-pressed Argyll was indebted to Munro after 75 minutes when the keeper got in a tangle following a corner and the defender was on hand to bundle the ball off the line.

It was all-Thurso, with Cassidy unlucky to see his half-volley deflected over the bar and Angus hitting the bar with the first of two late chances which fell his way.

An easy day for Mr Sinclair saw him reach into his pocket just once to book Munro after 68 minutes for a clumsy challenge on Gray.

Stand-in manager Gus Mackay was happy with his charges performed, apart from the dodgy spell following the first goal.

"After we went 1-0 up, we were a bit shaky for a while and they could easily have equalised.

"Overall, I thought we played some pretty good stuff, especially in the second half when we relaxed and started to knock the ball about really well."

Tomorrow, Thurso travel to Helmsdale for a league match versus Bunillidh Thistle.

There will be a change of keeper with the unavailable Jack MacKay replaced by Brian Mackay.

Ross Sutherland, who has niggling calf and hamstring problems, is likely to be rested

while Shaun Moar continues to struggle with a back injury.

Lee MacDougall and Jamie MacKenzie are set to return. 

Thurso – Mackay, Gray, Forbes, Warner (Baker 69), Morris, MacKenzie, Bremner, Sutherland (Angus h/t), Reid, Makhouli, Murray (Cassidy 58).

Ref: Mr W. Sinclair.

. Balintore's 4-0 defeat of Invergordon enabled them to take over at the top of the league from Golspie by virtue of their better goal difference.

The Sutherland outfit remain favourites as they have two games in hand.

On Saturday, Golspie had their work cut out before getting the better of neighbours Dornoch, winning 2-1 in the second round of the Morris Newton Cup.

Alness meanwhile booked a home semi-final versus Thurso in the competition after returning from Helmsdale with a 5-0 victory over Bunillidh Thistle.

. Halkirk United have no game tomorrow.