Fraserburgh Link Up YFC v K2000

Fraserburgh (3) v (0) K2000

K2000 left Kemnay very early on Sunday morning in glorious sunshine, and after the long trip to Fraserburgh, arrived to weather more accustomed to mid winter, bitterly cold, and pouring with rain.

The adverse weather conditions didn't however, dampen the spirits of the hardy Kemnay side, who after a great warm-up from coaches Jamie Mackie and David Temple started the first period of the game in a lively fashion, with a couple of good mazy runs from Scott Beverley causing the Broch defence problems, it could've been so much better for Kemnay, had their speedy No. 7 decided to pass to striker Nathan Smith who was much better positioned, instead of opting to go it alone.  K2000 were then hit with a sucker punch, with Fraserburgh breaking away, and their nippy forward firing a strong shot at the K2000 keeper, Ben Bell, who was unlucky to see the ball squirm off him and into the net, after bravely taking the full force of the shot.  This goal left Kemnay trailing 1-0 after the first whistle blew.

K2000 changed things around for the second part of the match, with Nathan Smith taking up his now customary position in goal, and as always, didn't let the side down, with brave (if unorthodox) saves, and strong kicking.  Despite the cold wind and rain, he even refused to wear gloves in goal, showing a true spirit that the Kemnay coaches love to see!

Kyle MacRitchie played in an unusual role for him, moved from defence to up front, and he settled in really well, his bustling style of play upsetting the home defence, and he also displayed a neat touch and awareness whilst playing his team-mates in, creating a few chances for them. This part of the match also finished 1-0 to Fraserburgh, but the highlight was seeing the Kemnay side string 7 or 8 passes together, culminating in a shot at the Broch goal, with almost every player from Kemnay taking part in the move, it was truly beautiful to watch, these players have obviously been well coached!  Going in to the third and final section of the match, K2000 were trailing 2-0.

Again, Kemnay played well in the final third of the game, and were unlucky to be beaten by a shot that was dropped by Nathan Smith in goal, none of his team-mates went to help him and the on rushing Broch forward knocked the rebound in despite the keeper's valiant effort to stop the ball crossing the line.  Kemnay kept plugging away and kept trying to pass the ball where they could, with Callum Campbell being the player most likely to cause Fraserburgh problems.  When they did break, the Broch found the Kemnay back line in a bullish mood, with Cameron Muirhead, in particular, strong in the tackle, and trying his best to urge his team on.  The goal in this part of the match left the hosts winners, with an overall scoreline of 3-0, though this was perhaps harsh on a Kemnay team, who played the better football, but suffered a bit with players not sticking to their positions, which gives the coaches something to work on over the next week or two.

This was the last match of the current season, with just the usual round of summer tournaments to come.  The coaching staff, John, Ally, David and Jamie have definitely seen a great improvement over the second half of the season, which bodes well for the step up into U10's next season.

Well done to all the players involved, here's to next season!