Early goal sets Orkney FC on their way to victory

A first-minute Daniel Hourston header and a second-half Keith Harcus strike saw Orkney FC avenge last weekends defeat to Thurso FC as they beat their Caithness counterparts 2-0 in Kirkwall this afternoon. With the game being played at the KGS 3G pitch, conditions weren’t great for either team with some heavy rainfall throughout the game, however, keen to make amends for last Saturday’s defeat, Orkney made the perfect start with a goal within the first minute.

An exquisite free-kick was curled into the box by captain Keith Harcus from Orkney’s right hand side and Hourston got his head on the ball to direct it past Owen Gordon in the Thurso goal to make it 1-0. Orkney started the game in fantastic fashion and Gordon had to be alert on five minutes to deny Erik Wilson after an excellent team-move had played the forward in.

Thurso, with Kirkwall pair Wayne Monkman and Duncan Gray in their ranks after struggling for numbers, started to impose themselves on the game without ever really threatening Paul Bain in the Orkney goal. Both teams fought hard for supremacy but the first half descended into a fairly scrappy and niggly affair with a lack of goalscoring opportunities. However, the away side went mightily close to equalising on the stroke of half time when a Michael Smith strike was pushed onto the bar by Bain and bounced away from goal.

The second half was a far more entertaining affair with both teams having chances and the game raging from end to end. However, with the game becoming increasingly stretched, it was the home side who put the game out of Thurso’s reach with a second goal from the captain. Good play by substitute Chris Simpson led to Thorfinn Stout receiving the ball and playing it into Harcus who swiped the ball into the Thurso net to seal the win.

Full report in next week’s The Orcadian.