Academy left The Haughs on Saturday with a familiar sinking feeling – one of having thrown away another three points at what is now our certified bogey ground.
A defeat away to Turriff is hardly something to be ashamed of; plenty good sides will go there this year and come away empty-handed.
But the manner of defeat once again leaves a sour taste in Scorries’ supporters’ mouths.
Leading from an early Chuckie Weir goal and seemingly on top, we were awarded the perfect opportunity to double the lead through Sam Mackay’s penalty but he saw his effort smack the crossbar and come out without crossing the line.
Failing to find the net from 12 yards happens to all good players; just look at Lionel Messi’s penalty record. But it’s the manner of this penalty miss which disappoints as it is incredibly similar to the last spot kick Mackay took against Clachnacuddin.
That night his strike hammered off the bar, came down and just managed to cross over the line. It was millimetres away from bouncing out, rather than in.
He played with fire that night and got away with it but should have known better than to attempt it again. This time he, and his team, got burned badly.
The defeat continues our rather inconsistent start to the season as we have yet to string two consecutive victories together.
The next two matches present a good opportunity to put an end to that sequence with more than winnable ties against Huntly at Harmsworth Park before an away trip to play Strathspey Thistle.
One of the more intriguing questions surrounding those games is whether Lukasz Geruzel will finally make his first appearance of the season.
The big Pole has been conspicuous by his absence thus far in this campaign, initially as he was back home on holiday, but now seemingly because of a conflict between Academy and his desire to play summer Caithness County League football.
Whatever the issues are, lets hope they are sorted sooner rather than later as his are literally big boots to fill and he can guarantee you 20 goals a season.
He may be occasionally inconsistent and is not the fastest but we are badly missing his physicality and killer instinct in front of goal.