Cowie’s praise for Helmsdale United after ‘bounce back’ performance against Melvich
Helmsdale United co-manager Malcolm Cowie reserved plenty of praise for his squad after they bounced back from defeat last weekend to win 5-1 against Melvich on Saturday.
The Sutherland side now sit in third place in the North-west Sutherland league on goal difference, three points behind leaders Tain Thistle.
Cowie said: “It was a great performance from the lads at the weekend, especially after a really disappointing second half performance the week before at Lochinver, where we blew a three-goal lead, so was good to bounce back from that.
RELATED:
Golspie knock Melvich for six as Bews bags hat-trick for Embo
Melvich boss lauds improvement of young side after win as champions Golspie see off Lochinver
Return for Embo as north-west Sutherland amateur teams opt for one-division set up
“It was a sticky first half an hour, so fair play to Melvich making it tough for us. But after that, we dominated with two quick goals and after half time we pretty much killed the game off.
“We were able to give a rest to a few senior players and get a few young lads a run out, which was good.”
Players of both teams observed a minute’s silence before the match to remember local man Ross Whitehead, who sadly died during the week.
Dean Cowie headed Helmsdale into the lead during a close fought first half before Melvich drew level thanks to a goal from Ebi Ambakederemo.
Any parity between the sides was put to one side though when Kevin Cairns fired the home side into the lead just before half-time.
A dominant Helmsdale emerged for the second half with goals from brothers Jack and Louie Wardrop, who took turns in putting Melvich to the sword.
It was all over as a contest when Cairns netted a second, this time from the penalty spot, to make it 5-1.
Elsewhere, Embo were on the wrong end of a 13-1 drubbing at the hands of league leaders Tain Thistle.
Thomas Lewis scored five against the Back Park side, while Adrian Voigt, Liam Rostock and Callum Murray each netted twice.
Jamie Skinner and Billy Knox were also among the scorers. Alex Stainke scored the only Embo goal.
Lochinver were comfortably beaten by Inver at Osprey Park.
Harris Mackenzie was the man of the moment in the first half with a double.
The first, turned into the net from a Jordan Hailes corner, was followed by a good solo finish after getting the better of a Lochinver defender.
Midfielder Alex Mackenzie extended Inver’s advantage in the second period before Jack Corbett rounded off the scoring at 4-0.
Friday’s match between Golspie Stafford and Brora Wanderers was postponed due to a bereavement, while Saturday’s meeting between Lairg Rovers and Lochbroom was called off due to no available match officials.
Upcoming league fixtures:
Saturday, June 1
Melvich v Lochbroom (2pm)
Wednesday, June 5
Golspie Stafford v Helmsdale United (7.45pm)
