Formartine United forward Julian Wade was happy to reach his target after netting 20 goals in all competitions this season for the North Lodge Park outfit.
The Dominica international reached the milestone with a second half equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Forres on Saturday, which helped Formartine extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches.
Wade, who signed for Formartine in the summer from Brechin, was delighted to reach the goal mark he was aiming for when he moved to North Lodge Park in the summer.
He had aimed for a better tally than he achieved for former club Brechin last term and – having done just that – Wade hopes to keep up his goalscoring form, with Turriff United up next for the Pitmedden side on Wednesday night.
Wade said: “I’m at 20 now, finally. It was actually my target I set for this season, after playing for Brechin last season, so it’s good to get there.
“At Formartine, Ando (manager Stuart Anderson) has given me the minutes that I needed – if you’re on the bench you’re not scoring any goals, that’s a guarantee.
“It’s been good to get the game time. It’s what I need because then everything else like the goals and assists come after that.
“Now I’m at 20, I’ll just keep going and see where I end up. Whatever number I do end up on, I’ll be able to look back on it and be happy with.
“I’m going to have a good go for the rest of the season and then I can start to think about setting targets for next season.”
North Lodge Park men want to keep unbeaten run going
Formartine host Turriff at home in a midweek clash, and Wade says they will be looking to extend an unbeaten run which has also seen them win all-but-one of their matches in 2023.
The Pitmedden outfit are currently third in the Breedon Highland League standings – a point ahead of Brora Rangers, but having played three games more. They are seven points behind Brechin City above them, having played two more fixtures than the Angus club.
Wade said: “100 per cent, we want to keep the unbeaten run going.
“It’s a busy period until the end of the season, so we just have to keep it up.
“You can tell the boys are really understanding playing with each other on the pitch, so I think we’re in a good place.
“We just want to get as many points as possible on the board.
“Against Turriff, we go into it like all the other games and try to put in our best performance.
“We didn’t get off to the races as much as we would’ve liked against Forres, so hopefully we can get back on it against Turriff on Wednesday.”
Turriff midfielder aware of Formartine’s threats
Turriff midfielder Keir Smith is fully aware of Formartine’s current form and the calibre of the North Lodge Park squad.
One of the wins in Formartine’s current run was a 4-2 Highland League victory against Turra at the Haughs last month.
But Dean Donaldson’s men feel confident in their ability to compete with the division’s top sides – having beaten champions Fraserburgh 3-2 at Bellslea on February 25.
Smith said: “Julian Wade upfront is a good player. He’s quick and (a) handful.
“Graeme Rodger in the middle as well has been about the league longer than I’ve been watching the league.
“They’re two very good players.
“(Striker Paul) Campbell who came from the Broch – he was superb there and only looks to have kicked on at Formartine.
“Don’t get me wrong – they’re a good outfit across the whole team.”
He added: “If you can go to the Broch and win, you can beat anybody in the league, so I think we’re going in with a good mindset.
“When you can turn in a performance like that, especially there at the Bellslea, which is probably the toughest place to go, there shouldn’t be anything which scares you.”
Currently 11th, Turriff led twice in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with fellow mid-table side Lossiemouth – and Smith thinks they will need to tighten up to take anything away from Pitmedden, saying: “It was a frustrating one, and I think we controlled the game for the 90 minutes, but were slack for the two goals.
“You can’t be slack against teams – especially those in the top-five on runs like Formartine are.
“That’s something we’ve got to work on. But as long as we can be assured at the back, it should stand us in good stead.”
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