Formartine United F.C. book themselves a place in a final for the first time since 2018/19 with a comfortable 4-0 win over Junior side Hermes F.C. Goals from Michael Dangana, Tyler Mykyta, Julian Wade and Graham Rodger were enough to set up an intriguing Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield final against Fraserburgh, who beat Turriff 4-2 at The Haughs.
Manager Stuart Anderson was pleased win his side’s clinical performance, avoiding a shock against their Junior counterparts.
He said: ‘The opening moments of the game were evenly contested but once we scored we settled down. Thereafter we were comfrotable and our keeper never had to make a real save. We were wary of Hermes coming into the game, we know they’ve had some fantastic results this season, and they’ve only lost 7 goals in the league. The main thing is we’re in the final and we’ve got that to look forward to.’
Formartine overcame Fraserburgh 2-1 last time out at North Lodge Park, with the teams set to face off for the shield.
He said: ‘For us, the final is a long way away. At the minute we’ve got important league games coming up and we are fully focused on those first.’
Formartine return to league action on Saturday where they welcome Strathspey Thistle, before heading to Spain Park for an important tie against Banks o’ Dee.
He said: ‘I think there will still be many twists and turns before the season concludes, but tonight we will enjoy the fact we’ve reached a cup final and then tomorrow we can return our focus on the league.’
The sides were evenly matched in the early stages, with Hermes looking to prevents Formartine’s pace turning into an early goal. Michael Dangana’s play on the wing forced a goal-line headed clearance from Hermes’ Liam Cheyne in the 10th minute. Three minutes later Formartine came close again, this time Matthew McLean glancing his header just over the crossbar from a Tyler Mykyta corner.
A home lead grew inevitable and came in the 24th minute, with Dangana involved again. His low cross was drilled in from the left wing and was turned past Jacob Otto by Hermes captain Dominic Rae.
Formartine’s confidence grew after the opening goal and were soon able to double their lead. Mykyta collected the ball on the edge of the box, created space from the encroaching Hermes defense, before drilling the ball into the bottom right corner.
Hermes managed to stay energetic before the half time whistle but Formartine looked comfortable, with keeper Ewen MacDonald not tested in the first 45 minutes.
The first bought of second-half action came in the 64th minute, with substitute Julian Wade heading home from a corner after finding himself unmarked in the centre of the box. Hermes’ woes were compounded moments later with another home goal, this time captain Graham Rodger scoring from close range in the 69th minute.
Eager for more, Formartine pressed on and nearly found a fifth, with Dangana’s long ranged effort cracking off the crossbar in the 80th minute. Wade and Dangana linked up in the 87th minute, with Wade’s point blank effort well over Otto’s goal.
The full-time whistle confirmed it would be an all-Highland League encounter in the final fight for the Fleming Shield, with the venue and date to be confirmed.
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