The Haughs, Highland Football League, 14/12/24
Me still 328, Wee Man still 193
Turriff United Football Club
Founded – 1954
Nickname – Turra
Honours – Aberdeenshire Shield – 2010/11, 2012/13, 2014/15
Part two of a Highland League double header for the weekend, this chosen by Junior himself, I fancied somewhere new he fancied the Highland League. So be it. It was touch and go whether it was to be on or not with a chunk of the league off due to frost, inclusive of late pitch inspections, which Huntly v Deveronvale fell foul to. The Haughs was re-inspected late but luck was on our side as the ref was happy. I had a feeling it would be as when we drove through Fyvie en route, the towns amateurs were underway against Insch, a definite tell tale that we would get a HFL fix. A swift pint and a Fanta was had before heading for a pie but due to the late decision to play, the pies weren’t ready, another bit of luck for us as we had to go for the sausage rolls instead. I will tell you what, they were absolutely magic. Not often I do opt for anything but a steak pie but in future I will be on the sausage delicacies at the Haughs for sure (as I do at Dyce). Another to add to my admiration for the Haughs. I have said it before and will no doubt say it again but Turrah’s home is up there with the best non-league grounds in the country if not grounds in general. Whether it is the mucho cheapo fan bar, the aesthetically pleasing corner stand, the views that are thrown up by the grounds positioning below the town. Maybe its the way it feels like it is completely enclosed in pure darkness at night(good thing I eat my carrots. It could also be the fact the club has numerous lovely folk involved with it. Then there is the “dookit” where it is a life goal to watch a game from it’s vantage point at least once. There are so many reasons the Haughs is a magic place to get a game and that almost made up for what was a pretty non-descript first half. But a first half where Formartine really should have notched a few, Julian Wade with two I would be expected a man of his qualities to bury. But on the whole the half was even it was played all over the pitch but lacked those notable moments, barring eating the fucking excellent sausage roll.
HT 0 v 0
Half time saw more of the game devised by Wee Man pre-game, this was three cups and three shots to knock them down, simple but extremely effective and infuriating too. A new game to rival the Spain Park tyre game. The teams reappeared on the slightly cut up Haughs pitch and we were in for a treat, the first half may have been mostly a non-event but the second was full of excitement. The first point of note was the home side rattling the crossbar in the first minute of the half. Who hit it? I don’t know. How it came about? I also don’t know as I was standing at a urinal but the unmistakable crunch of a goal frame being struck echoed in the gents , which are positioned directly behind said goal frame. The home side did take the lead when a fierce shot from Murray Cormack was saved by MacDonald in the Formartine goal but nobody was alert to the rebound which I think came off one of the Formartine defenders. (The no tannoy announcement of the scorer suggests this too). But the home side did not care. The game was wide open and end to end but it Formartine who were next to score when a great ball in from the right found Stuart Smith who found himself mid-box to dive and header home. The defender looked to be in too much space as the Turrah backline seemed to stand still, but he took it well. Formartine scored again when Wade snuck a low goalward ball which crept toward the back post from the left, one which was going in but it got a touch between Wades toe and the goal which ruled it offside. This worried Wee Man as he has an incredible record of when he has watched Formartine, Julian Wade has scored every time, this stretches a good few games( a number I would have to confirm). This mad record is to the extent that a few weeks ago I watched Formartine away at Dyce on my own and he did not hit the net. But true to form the young one didn’t need to worry long as the Dominican international did score moments later when he burst through two defenders on to a long ball rounding Herbert in the Turrah goal to knock into an empty net. We both thought this was the three points heading back past our house to Pitmedden but we were wrong as Turrah grabbed a last gasp equaliser through John Allan who rattled an effort out of MacDonald’s reach off the post and in. A tidy finish wrapping up the scoring in this eventful second half as the “Turrah Ultras”*** got in about the Formartine subs to give them a massive “get it right up you”. The game had one last piece of action when Formartine’s Combe was set up on a silver platter only to blast over the bar which saw all of his team mates put their head in their hands as club owner Atholl Cadger did similar next to us. Decent choice in the end from the Wee Man and only 20 minutes until we were back in the house, door locked warming up again after the Turrah chill was well and truly in effect come full time. This after battling the darkness to find the car
***Someone needs to teach this lot what a rythym is.
Entrance – Me £10, Wee Man £5
Attendance – 265 (Rough Head Count)
Pie – £8, Sausage roll x 2, Coffee
Pint – £3, Tennent’s , Fan Bar
Score Predictions – Me 2 v 2, Wee Man 1 v 3
Score Prediction Season Total – Me 1 v 1 Wee Man
FITBAWBAG 