Season: 2022
North Uist United vs Barra
Iochdar Saints vs North Uist United
North Uist United vs Southend
North Uist United 3 Southend 1
Southend put us under a fair bit of pressure in the early stages of the derby with their wingers getting a fair bit of joy against us. After creating a few chances they scored after some sloppy defending on our part. This led us to make an early change with Mark MacInnes coming on to replace young Alexander to add some experience to our back line. Neither team really created anything of note in the rest of the half but we could certainly feel the tide beginning to turn in our favour.
We decided to take Andrew on at half time to add some more killer instinct up top to try and capitalise on some of the good football we were playing. We certainly looked more dangerous from the restart and it wasn’t long before we got some reward. Angus MacIntosh pounced on a loose ball in the box to tap the ball in following a dangerous ball in from Calum MacDonald. From this point we were determined to get the three points and kept piling on the pressure. Eventually in the 84th minute we got the breakthrough with a moment of magic from Calum scoring a top corner screamer from 35 yards. Southend went close with a free kick shortly after this but in the 91st minute Andrew made sure of all three points when he beat his defender and got his shot away. The keeper saved but could only parry the ball into the path of the on rushing Andrew who had a tidy finish. 3-1 is how the game finished.
To summarise; it was a rather scrappy and tight game that either team could’ve won but we managed to edge it in the key moments to ensure we got our first points of the season on the board.
MOTM: Mark, he came on against one of the most dangerous opposing players and completely nullified his threat. He gave us all a lesson on how to win the ball hard but fair.
Hopefully we can build some momentum now and keep the positive results coming for the rest of the season. Next game is Saints away on Thursday evening.
Many thanks for your valued support
Fraser
Eriskay vs North Uist United
Eriskay 5 North Uist United 1
We travelled up with a young team to play Eriskay FC on Tuesday night in a rearranged league fixture. We had a decent first half in a new system for the smaller Eriskay park. Defending well and getting a lot of space out wide. It was quite a stop-start half with both teams having chances but not many clear cut. Eriskay did get the breakthrough from a free kick which took a lucky bounce off the turf right in front of the diving Tom in goals. We finished the half confidently although we were 1-0 down.
In the second we completely fell apart not closing down the ball quickly enough whilst pressing and also not using the ball wisely when we had it. We often played the ball straight out of play under no real pressure as well as choosing the wrong option regularly whilst trying to play the ball forward. Before we knew it we were 5-0 down and the decent first half was completely overshadowed by the lacklustre display in the second. Eriskay did score some nice goals but that is no excuse for the way we collapsed following the second goal! Calum MacDonald did get a consolation goal close to the end with a brilliantly taken free kick on his wrong foot, however it was too late to form any sort of comeback.
MOTM: Ben Shepherd. He had an excellent first half as a sweeper mopping up everything that got near the back line.
Our next game is on Friday night at home v Southend 7pm kick off. Hopefully see a crowd there to cheer us on; and we’ll be sure to put on a better performance.
Many thanks for your support as always
Fraser
Benbecula vs North Uist United
Benbecula 4-3 North Uist United
Missing a number of players from the team on Friday due to injuries, holidays and work commitments left us with the smallest squad of the season so far. We won the toss first half and decided to go against the wind and rain so we could attack in the second. This backfired after some really poor defending all over the park in a 15 minute spell which led us to being 4-0 down before we could even react. We managed to regroup and settle for the last fifteen minutes of the half to limit the damage going into the break.
At half time we believed that we could still get a result with the severe conditions on our side. We started fast and put pressure on Benbecula straight away. On the 50th minute Calum Macdonald scored a curling effort to give us some belief. We upped the intensity and again Calum pounced on a loose ball and sent another cutler past their keeper. We continued to push and probe the opposing defence which paid off when Bengie won a free kick on the edge of the area. Calum looking for his third had a great effort saved by the keeper which fell kindly to myself in the box where I placed the ball over the keeper into the net. At 4-3 with 15 minutes to go we kept looking for the equaliser but unfortunately we couldn’t come up with the breakthrough despite a number of close moments.
To summarise: It really was a game of two halves with Benbecula dominating the first and us with the conditions on our side dominating the second bar a few chances here and there for the team against the wind. We can take positives from the fact we never gave up even at 4-0 down however we must look at ourselves for the abysmal defending on display in the first half. On reflection I feel as though a point would’ve been a fair result.
MOTM: Calum. Although he had a quiet first half he was tremendous in the second. Scoring two and being heavily involved in the third he really was our most dangerous threat in the final third. Special mention to Ben and Fazel who ran their socks off and never gave up on anything all game.
Next game is Eriskay away on Tuesday night at 18:45. Hopefully see a few of you there.
As always many thanks for your valued support,
Fraser
Iochdar Saints vs North Uist United (Summer Cup)
North Uist United vs Eriskay (Summer Cup)
North Uist United 1 Eriskay 2
We had a really strong performance on Friday dominating possession and chances created, however we were seriously sloppy for the two goals we conceded. Although we had numerous chances we found ourselves 0-1 down at half time.
After the break the game was a bit more even with both teams getting chances before really poor defending from a corner led to another Eriskay goal. We piled the pressure on for the remainder of the game and got a goal back from a good bit of play down the left and a real tidy finish from Lewis Macdonald. We pushed and probed for the rest of the game but we couldn’t find an equaliser despite us hitting the woodwork four times throughout the game. 1-2 the game finished.
MOTM: There’s a number of players to choose from this week with the youngsters in the team doing particularly well. I feel that Calum MacDonald deserves it for this one for the major threat he posed down the right hand side and was seriously unlucky not to score a couple after hitting the crossbar three times.
Many thanks
Fraser
Ness vs North Uist United (Co-op Cup)
Ness 7 North Uist United 0
We took the long journey up to play Ness FC on Saturday in the most horrific weather conditions I remember for a game in the middle of June! From the outset of the game we struggled to deal with the opposing forward line and the extreme weather. Once they opened the scoring they just seemed to keep coming at us and were absolutely clinical with every chance they created. Before we could even gather our thoughts we were 4-0 down in the tie. We had a decent spell after this but again mistakes cost us before half time conceding another two goals to the ruthless frontline.
We changed things up a bit and had an honest discussion at half time and certainly came out with more desire and determination. We were still by no means the better side and rode our luck on occasions but we certainly had a far better share of possession and we created a few openings of our own. We did concede another one midway through the half when Tom made a great save but unfortunately for him the striker was first on the scene to tap it home.
To summarise first half was a complete disaster of a performance, second half we certainly held our own and could’ve had a goal or two to show for it but ultimately we fell way short of the levels required to compete in a game such as this.
MOTM: Adam Keltie. Much of our good play came from Adam at full back, regularly beating his man and winning us numerous free kicks to ease the pressure throughout the game.
Our next game is at home to Eriskay in the summer cup on Friday the 24th June.
Many thanks for your support
Fraser