Fort William have been confirmed as Breedon Highland League ‘Club 18′ after their 5-1 loss at Brechin City and will contest a two-legged relegation play-off against Junior side Banks o’ Dee at the end of the season.
The defeat to Brechin at Glebe Park means Fort cannot catch second-bottom Turriff United, even if they win all of their remaining four league matches this term.
Fort had scored early in Angus and went in to the interval level, before a contentious penalty call allowed the third-place Hedgemen to take the lead.
Visiting boss Shadab Iftikhar was furious with referee Nathan Clac-Mansfield over the penalty award.
He said: “We were doing really well and then a very bad decision from the referee turned the game.
“Our player never made contact, but it’s useless trying to speak to the referee as they just won’t listen.
“The bottom line is that it’s easy to give a decision against Fort William.”
Fort grabbed the lead after just five minutes when Kevin McHattie was adjudged to have fouled Yves Zama in the box and Taylor Kelly made no mistake with the spot-kick.
Brechin fought back and they levelled the match in the 22nd minute when Cammy Ross broke free on the left and crossed into the box for Kieran Inglis, who headed strongly past Fort William keeper Mateusz Kulbacki.
It took City just six minutes into the second-half to get themselves in front, when Inglis’ converted from the penalty-spot after Ross was judged to have been brought down by Niels Lellouch
Ross then made it 3-1 with a close-range finish with seven minutes remaining.
Brechin were well on top in the final stages and further goals from substitutes Michael Paton and Julian Wade put the gloss on an impressive second-half performance.
Brechin City manager Andy Kirk was delighted with the response of his players after he urged them to show greater intensity in their performance after being level at the break.
He said: “We had loads of possession today. We got in really good areas, but we were a bit wasteful with our final ball, which we’ve spoken about a number of times this season.
“I thought that some of our passing was really good, but we were that little bit slow in the opening 45 minutes. We spoke to the players at half-time about increasing the speed, touching the sides of the pitch quicker and then trying to open up gaps to go through – and, when we do get the chance, being careful with our final ball.
“When you have a lot of the ball and you’re well on top, that’s the time that slackness can creep in, but we told the players to stay sharp, to keep thinking well and to keep moving as that’s what’s going to cause the opposition problems.
“I thought that the players took that message on board well and we were much improved in the second-half.”
Spot-kick sees Strathspey earn 1-1 draw at Lossiemouth
A late penalty from Strathspey Thistle substitute Jake Thomson secured a 1-1 draw at Lossiemouth.
The home side had the better of the first half going, gaining the lead on 25 minutes when Strathspey’s Liam Mcdade turned Logan Ross’ long ball upfield beyond his own goalkeeper.
Lossie were also the better team in the early stages of the second half at Grant Park – Ross Morrison hit the post soon after the break, while Baylee Campbell also missed a glorious chance to effectively win the game following a mazy run.
However, Thistle finished strongly and – after Andy Skinner was fouled in the box and Thomson converted from the spot on 82 minutes – could have won it in injury time when Ross did well to stop Ross Logan scoring from 10 yards.
Strathspey manager Charlie Brown felt his team could have claimed the three points, but also said they rode their luck a few times.
He said: “We lost a bad goal as Liam (Mcdade) had already gone to head the ball and our keeper was a bit late in shouting that it was coming through to him, but I was pleased with the way the boys bounced back in the second half and played some decent football.
“We got a penalty through Andy Skinner who shouldn’t have been in that area – but fair play to him taking one for the team with a kick in the face to get the award and Jake Thomson struck it away well.
“We have a young team and it takes time to gel, but they have great attitudes, while Jack Gilland came in for his debut and showed composure on the ball, which was really pleasing.”
Lossie manager Joe Russell was disappointed to lose the late goal, but felt his side should have had the game won long before then.
He said: “It’s a hard one to take as we had really decent opportunities to add to our first half lead. But we knew, as long as there was only one goal in it, we were always in danger of being pulled back and I have no complaints about the penalty.
“It would have been an injustice if we had lost the game, but we will take a share of the points.
“My main disappointment is the fact that Baylee Campbell could not finish his amazing run with a goal, but the ball bobbled up in front of him as he rounded their keeper. If anyone deserved a goal on the day it was him and I am heartbroken for him as he has been excellent since returning from a loan spell at Dufftown.”
