Lossie leapfrogged Fort to climb off the foot of the table with a gutsy performance at a windswept Grant Park.
Second-half goals from Kyle Willis, the best player on the pitch, and captain Liam Archibald were enough to see the home side register their fourth league win of the campaign.
Skipper Archibald could not hide his delight when he said: “The first half was a bit of a stalemate but in the second, as soon as we got that first goal, we were able to relax a wee bit. Since he came in Kyle Willis has provided us with a bit of class but when he plays like that he will win you games.
“There have been games when we’ve been on top but we’ve not had that bit of quality.
“Kyle provided that today.”
Before kick-off Fort were above the Coasters at the foot of the Highland League table on goal difference, so this really was a massive game for both clubs.
There was nothing to choose between the sides early on in the game, with the swirling wind making it extremely difficult to get the ball down on the deck and under control.
The crowd had to wait until the 20th minute for the first shot on target, Fort keeper Daniel Hoban doing well to hold on to a 12-yard grounder from Ross Elliott.
The Lochaber side replied with an angled drive from Conor Moore, which came back off the outside of the post, although Lossie keeper Stewart Black had it covered.
It took a brilliant flying save from Hoban to turn a 30-yard Willis rocket round the post for a fruitless corner 10 minutes from the break.
Just before half-time only a last ditch tackle by Tom Palmer on Fort striker Roddy Kennedy, just as the young striker was about to pull the trigger, denied the visitors an opener.
Encouragingly, there was more than a sprinkling of Fort William supporters in a healthy crowd on a freezing February afternoon at the seaside.
Just after the restart young Kennedy was just wide of the upright with a 20-yarder as the visitors went in search of an opening goal.
Just before the hour Lossie took the lead when dangerman Willis met a cross from the right and gave Hoban in the Fort goal no chance with a first-time effort from 12 yards.
Three minutes later, Fort were mightily unlucky not to snatch an equaliser, after Gabriel Hastings created an opening for Kennedy who saw his 10-yard shot come back off the crossbar and, following up, substitute Rafal Mendyk’s effort was cleared off the line before the ball was hacked to safety.
Shortly afterwards, it was Lossie’s turn to hit the woodwork when Owen Loveland saw his 10-yard shot on the turn cannon back off the face of the crossbar.
In the 82nd minute Fort failed to clear their lines and Coasters’ skipper Liam Archibald was on hand to stab the ball home from six yards.
Fort William manager Calum MacLean made no excuses.
He said: “The first goal was always going to be important.
“Lossiemouth got it with a well-worked move and it was a cracker.
“To be honest we really didn’t turn up today, at the start of the game we said we needed to move the ball quickly but that just didn’t happen.
“Let’s not forget, they’re still kids and after the good performances on the trot today was a bad day, although take nothing away from Lossiemouth, they deserved their win as they wanted it more.”
