Dyce Juniors’ excellent cup form continued with a fighting win at Downfield in extreme conditions to reach the quarter-finals of the Quest Engineering Inter Regional Trophy.
With the windy weather making it extremely difficult for the players, it was never going to be a classic and it was the home side, playing with the gale in the first half, who went in front after just five minutes. A long through ball caught out the visitors’ defence, allowing Gordon Norrie to tap the ball into the net.
The advantage lasted just three minutes, though, with a Dyce corner met by the head of George Mead to make it 1-1.
Ten minutes after the restart, Dyce went ahead when Adam McNamee’s corner was nodded home at the front post by Declan Milne – who is on loan from Buckie Thistle.
Dyce manager Alfie Youngson admitted the weather somewhat ruined the match as a spectacle, saying: “That was probably the worst conditions I’ve ever experienced and it certainly spoiled the game, which was your classic game of two halves.
“The wind died down slightly in the second half and we probably dealt the better with the elements.
“We dealt with it reasonably well in the opening 45 and had a couple of good breaks when we could have added second and possibly had the hard work done by the interval.
“Unfortunately we lost Blair Johnston midway through the first half with what looks like an ankle ligament problem, which is a blow as he’s a big player for us. Hopefully Gordon Forsyth will be back for the weekend, though.
“While there were some great battling performances, I thought young Kyle Douglas was excellent in the middle of the park in what was a physical battle. He’s not long turned 17 and, while he’s started a few games, that was his first 90 minutes in the engine room and he did very well indeed.”
Next up for Dyce is the visit of Superleague bottom club Deveronside, but Alfie believes they’re in a false position in the table.
He added: “They’ve been a bit unlucky. They had a points deduction earlier in the season for listing too many trialists and, player-for-player, they’re better than their league position suggests. We played them at their place at the start of the season and, although we won 2-0, it was a lot closer than that.
“We’ll have Tom Hutchison back for Saturday and I’m hoping to add a couple of new faces as we’re pretty light in terms of bodies, even with everyone available, and – being involved in four cups – we still have a fair bit of football to play between now and the end of the season.”
