Dingwall Vertex 0-6 Tain Thistle
Tain Thistle got off the mark in style at Dingwall this evening, winning all three points after putting six into the Vertex net. <br /><br />Manager Arron Christie made four changes for the visit. Resting winger Darran Goller, full back James Rice with Brian Cameron and John Maclellan dropping to the bench, while Kyle Oliver, Andrew Sutherland and Robbie Ross were recalled to the side along with the player-manager himself.<br /><br />A promising start for Thistle saw Robbie Ross and makeshift forward Arron Christie come close with efforts in the box, with Daniel Christie also firing over the bar in the early going. A resilient Vertex defence were able to stave off the pressure from Tain's determined wing pairing of Colin Burry and Andy Durrand but before long the floodgates opened; Arron Christie leathering the ball into the top corner to give Tain a 1-0 lead in emphatic style with his first goal of the campaign.<br /><br />Arron's brother Daniel Christie opened his account for the season soon after, turning a shot into the net beyond the keeper to make it 2-0, giving Thistle a more than comfortable half time advantage.<br /><br />Shortly after the restart, Ross could very well have made it 3-0, but failed to connect with a cross at the far post, heading wide from close range. The duty was left to Thistle's left back, in sensational fashion, as Ryan Johnston watched his deep looping cross turn into the shot of the game when it sailed over the head of an unsuspecting Ross Rae and into the net.<br /><br /><img align="none" alt="" src="http://www.tainthistle.co.uk/news/data/upimages/vert1.jpg"><br /><br />Vertex enjoyed a brief reprieve from defending when Thistle brought on substitutes John Maclellan and Ayah Rattanaphithak as the visitor's rejigged their formation; the Dingwall side's Ryan Reid testing Steven Martin with a tame effort soon after with the call centre side's only significant chance of the game.<br /><br />Substitute Rattanaphithak found himself in the thick of the action quickly, winning a free kick outside the box, before finding the net himself, stunning onlookers with a deft header over the ample Vertex keeper finishing a Mark Reid cross; a feat in itself for the diminutive Thai dribbler, who would take some beating as the shortest player in the league!<br /><br />The tireless Burry added a fifth from a set piece outside the box soon after Rattanaphithak's contribution, much to the disappointment of the Vertex defence and their keeper who were caught off guard by Thistle's quickness in taking the free kick.<br /><br />Rattanaphithak, finding it all too easy to advance on the vulnerable Vertex defence was adjudged to have been impeded in the closing minutes of the game and a penalty was awarded to the visitors by referee Mark Dalton. Still chasing his opening goal of the campaign, young striker John Maclellan stepped up to the plate for the spot kick and after sending the Vertex keeper the wrong way, Maclellan knocked the ball home to round the evening off at 6 goals to nil for Thistle.<br /><br /><img border="0" align="none" alt="" src="http://www.tainthistle.co.uk/news/data/upimages/vert2.jpg"><br /><br />The win gets Thistle off the mark in the Ross-shire Welfare league, catapulting them to 3rd in the table, behind Ross-shire Club who lost 1-0 to Balintore in another of the evening's games. Elsewhere in the county, Invergordon Social Club were beaten 3-1 at Portmahomack by Inver, while Alness Athletic regained form to make easy work of Cromarty in an 8-0 drubbing.<br /><br />Thistle's win over Vertex will be their final outing before they play Inver in the Ross-shire Welfare League Cup final, scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 22nd at Balintore Lower Park, Balintore, with a 3pm kick off.<br /><br /><b>Team:</b><br />Martin, Cowie (Reid), Johnston, Farquhar, Sutherland, Oliver, D Christie, Durrand (Rattanaphithak), Burry, Ross (Maclellan), A Christie<br /><br /><b>Subs not used:</b><br />S McGaw, Cameron<br /><br /><b>Goals:</b><br />A Christie 23, D Christie 36, Johnston 56, Rattanaphithak 77, Burry 82, Maclellan pen 90<br /><br /><b>Bookings:</b><br />None<br /><br /><b>Man of the Match:</b><br />Ryan Johnston<br /><br /><b>Match details:</b><br /><a href="http://www.tainthistle.co.uk/matchdetails.php?id=392">http://www.tainthistle.co.uk/matchdetails.php?id=392</a>