Highland have received assurances from St Boswells their potential National 3 title-clinching fixture at Canal Park will go ahead at the third attempt tomorrow.
The Inverness outfit were left furious when the Borders outfit pulled the plug on last Saturday’s fixture less than 24 hours before kick off due to being unable to field a team. Highland need just one point to secure promotion to National 2, with two points enough to secure the title.
Following repeated attempts to make contact with St Boswells, Highland were finally given word yesterday the fixture, which was initially postponed on March 3 due to weather, would go ahead.
Highland head coach Davie Carson hopes there are no further issues, and said: “We finally got the official word on Thursday from the St Boswells captain that they will be coming up. The deadline was supposed to be 12 noon on Wednesday, but we had no calls or emails from the fixture secretary.
“Our secretary would normally be making contact on a Sunday night, but the silence from then was golden. It’s all a bit disrespectful.
“I can’t go through another Friday like that again – a big build-up and then being left deflated.
“I will believe it when their bus pulls up – but in all seriousness, hopefully now that it’s their captain who is saying it, they will come up this time. Hopefully there will be no problem.”
Carson is without Sean Blair, who had already booked a holiday prior to last week’s postponement, and will be replaced in the second row by the returning Oscar Baird.
Carson has attempted to ensure the uncertainty has not disrupted his side’s preparations, adding: “We have just gone on the presumption that the game was always going to go ahead. In the last couple of weeks we have been doing some really light sessions, and then doing our game preparation on a Thursday night as normal.
“Nothing changed from last week, we have just moved on from it and the boys are in the right frame of mind.
“If we do what we have been doing we are confident we can win it.
“It’s a massive game for the whole club – probably the biggest since we won promotion to the old Division 1 with a win over Selkirk at Northern Meeting Park in 1976. I was there watching on as an 11-year-old supporter.
“We should get a big crowd down and there is no football now to compete with which also helps.”
