Wick Rangers 1 - 6 Buston Town

Key Events:

• 3' Yellow card to Wick Rangers Phillip Lewis
• 4' Buston Town Julian Torres scores, assisted by Jens König
• 7' Buston Town Craig Kennedy scores
• 27' Yellow card to Buston Town Damian Jones
• 43' Yellow card to Buston Town Jose Rojas
• 45' Wick Rangers Michel Lemoine scores
• 49' Buston Town Gela Samkharadze scores
• 54' Buston Town scores, assisted by Gela Samkharadze
• 63' Buston Town Jose Rojas scores
• 80' Buston Town Julian Torres scores, assisted by Gela Samkharadze

Expected Goals (xG) Analysis

The scoreline of 6-1 outstripped Buston Town’s 3.74 xG, while Wick Rangers’ single goal came from 1.13 xG. Both sides finished below their estimated chance totals, but the gap between their shot volumes was substantial: Buston Town recorded 19 attempts, 12 on target, against five attempts and four on target for Wick Rangers. The visitors’ 51% possession was only a shade greater than the hosts’ 49%, so this was not a story of simply holding the ball for long stretches. The more telling difference was how often Buston Town turned possession into shots and how persistently they kept the hosts defending. Six goals from 3.74 xG represents notable finishing above expectation; the visitors made a strong supply of chances count with particular force.

• No Wick Rangers players recorded a rating of 7.0 or higher.

The first goal arrived in the fourth minute, and Craig Kennedy added another three minutes later; Wick Rangers were left chasing the match before it had properly settled. The hosts did find a response through Michel Lemoine on the stroke of half-time, a goal that gave the scoreline a more competitive look at the interval. It did not, however, interrupt the pattern for long. Gela Samkharadze scored four minutes after the restart, then assisted Buston Town’s next goal, while Jose Rojas and Julian Torres added further strikes. The visitors’ six goals and 19 shots underline the scale of their attacking advantage, even if the finishing was more generous than the xG estimate would usually predict.

Wick Rangers had enough possession to avoid being entirely pinned back, and their four shots on target from five attempts show that they did make their limited opportunities count in getting Lemoine’s goal. But the contrast in volume and the three-goal burst from the 49th minute onward left little room for a late contest. Buston Town were not flawless—both sides’ xG totals sat below their actual goals—but they were markedly more productive in the final third. A 6-1 result is a clear margin by any reasonable measure, and the visitors earned it with pressure that repeatedly became a shot, then, on this occasion, a goal.