Postal ALC 3 - Dee Utd 1 - Dickie Trophy 2nd Round - Webster Park Saturday 21/02/2026

Postal faced off against Dee United in the Dickie Trophy, the encounter the first time the clubs have met.  Postal new signing Craig Mackie would make his first start for the club as changes were made following the Lads Club defeat and suspension to Harry McAuley.

Postal lined up as below:

1. Shaun Walker

2. Bruce Webster

3. Andrew Riddell

4. Craig Mackie

5. James Steele

6. Keiron Dowbekin

7. Steven Abel (S)

8. Alex Clark

9. Duncan MacKenzie (S)

10. Phil Wallace 

11. Sultan Ahmed

Bench: 

12. Andreas Jones (S)

13. Fraser Smith

14. Vinnie Buggie

15. Doug Russell

16. Adam Veitch

17. Euan Brechin (S)

Postal got the game underway and looked lively from the first whistle. Inside five minutes, Riddell picked out Phil with an excellent ball out wide. Phil’s dangerous delivery almost caught the keeper off guard, his cross-come-shot drifting narrowly wide of the far post.

However, the visitors struck against the run of play in the 6th minute. Shaun attempted to feed Phil down the line, but was dispossessed under pressure by the opposition’s number nine. The striker wasted no time, drilling a composed left-footed effort into the bottom-left corner to make it 0–1.

Postal responded positively. On 10 minutes, Abel linked up well with Phil, who tried his luck from long range with his left foot, but the effort drifted wide. Five minutes later, Dobbs entered the referee’s notebook after a strong challenge as the game grew more competitive.

Phil remained at the heart of Postal’s attacking intent. In the 17th minute he stood up the centre-half brilliantly before firing just wide, and two minutes later a Postal corner was well claimed by the visiting keeper.

The equaliser arrived in fortunate circumstances in the 25th minute. Under pressure from the relentless Postal press, the opposition centre-back rolled the ball back to his goalkeeper. Attempting to clear, the keeper slipped at the crucial moment and the ball squirmed into his own net to level the score at 1–1.

Postal nearly took the lead before the break. On 39 minutes, Alex slipped Sully through cleverly. Sully squared for Dunc, but the ball became tangled under his feet and the chance went begging. The resulting corner saw Sully unable to make clean contact.

Moments later, Phil powered into the box and appeared to be fouled, but play continued. The loose ball broke to Alex, whose shot was well saved. Sully then fired wide in the 41st minute as Postal piled on the pressure.

Postal resumed after the interval with real purpose. Just a minute into the second half, Bruce surged down the left before slipping Abel in behind. Abel found Dunc, but his effort was smartly saved. Dunc tested the keeper again in the 53rd minute, only to be denied once more before being replaced by Doug.

The introduction of Doug added fresh impetus. In the 55th minute, Postal’s high press paid dividends. Phil squared to Doug, who laid it off to Alex. Alex’s fierce drive looked destined for the top corner, but the keeper somehow clawed it away in a superb save.

From the resulting spell of pressure, Abel delivered a pinpoint corner on 60 minutes. Phil’s effort was tipped onto the bar, and when the ball came back in, Dobbs attempted an audacious overhead kick getting no where near the ball. 

Postal continued to lay siege. On 65 minutes, Sully’s powerful header from a corner was cleared off the line. Another corner followed, Bruce firing over with the keeper stranded off his line.

Phil and Doug combined brilliantly on 69 minutes, Phil releasing Doug whose left-footed strike towards the top corner was once again denied by the outstanding goalkeeper.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 78th minute. From a throw-in, Phil produced a piece of magic, nutmegging his marker and driving into the box. Dobbs took over possession and curled a sublime effort into the top corner to give Postal a deserved 2–1 lead. Shortly after, Dobbs was replaced by Brechin to freshen things up.

Postal made the result safe in the 85th minute. Phil, instrumental all afternoon, drove down the left and squared into the box. The ball deflected out to 25 yards where Brechin met it first time, smashing a superb strike into the bottom-right corner to make it 3–1.

The visitors had one final chance in the 88th minute when their number 18 broke through on goal, but he blazed over the bar under pressure.

Full-Time: Postal ALC 3 – 1 Dee Utd

After falling behind early, Postal ALC responded with resilience, intensity, and attacking quality. The opposition goalkeeper kept the score respectable with a string of fine saves, but the pressure eventually told.

A commanding second-half performance, relentless pressing, and moments of real quality ensured a thoroughly deserved victory for Postal ALC.