Fresh from winning the North Caledonian Cup with a 1-0 victory against Halkirk United, St Duthus can round off a fine second half to their season this weekend by beating hosts Orkney.
Saints manager Alan Geegan, who replaced brothers Stuart and Andrew Ross in October, has steadied the ship and guided the side up the table.
They now face a straight 90-minute shoot-out with Orkney, with a victory taking them into fifth position at their opponents’ expense.
Highlights of Saturday’s North Caledonian Cup Final are now online on our Facebook.
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— North Caledonian FA (@NorthCaleyFA) April 4, 2022
Geegan insists the Saints stars are ready for one final big effort and stressed the strong ending to the campaign gives them reason to aim even higher next term.
He said: “Orkney would have the benefit of staying fifth with a draw, but if we manage to pick up three points we will leapfrog them, which would be very pleasing.
“I set myself a couple of targets at New Year in terms of the points left remaining and the cup competition.
“We got the cup, so now we’re determined to seal the deal to get the win and secure fifth place.
“When I took over, I’m sure, given the way we’d started the season as a club, a few people might have laughed at us going on to win a cup, but we have proved we belong at the top end of the league, competing with Invergordon, Loch Ness, Golspie Sutherland, Orkney.
“We should be there or thereabouts and our form in the last few months has shown we can be up at the top end next season.”
St. Duthus FC – North Caledonian Cup winners 2021/22 pic.twitter.com/368sFPN9HR
— St Duthus Football Club (@StDuthusFC) April 2, 2022
‘We deserved cup triumph – Geegan
Finn As-Chainey’s goal sealed the cup triumph against Halkirk last weekend at Dudgeon Park, Brora.
Geegan was thrilled to come out on top of a game where it seemed one goal might always make the difference.
He added: “We largely controlled the first half and let them into it a wee bit and they had a great chance from Graham Macnab.
“In the second half, we got an early goal and defended very well, restricting Halkirk to few opportunities.
“It was a tight game as I knew it would be. On the whole, I thought we deserved it. There were good celebrations on Saturday, which was great.”
Clean sheet tally rises to six this year
And Geegan is delighted that they’re making life tough for opponents to break them down, which has been critical as their consistency has been there for all to see.
He added: “From the word go, one of my targets was to win this competition. I knew we had the ability in the squad to do it.
“It was just all about applying ourselves and working hard for one another.
“We’ve kept six clean sheets since the start of the year, which has been really pleasing from a defensive point of view. That gives us the foundation to go out and win matches.”
Showdown for second spot in league
Also on Saturday, second-placed Loch Ness will secure the runners-up position if they avoid defeat against Halkirk United at Fortrose.
An Anglers win, however, would secure second spot for the double cup runners-up ahead of their last game at Alness United on April 16.
Four wins on the spin for Thurso
Thurso, who defeated basement side Bonar Bridge 4-1 in Goslpie on Wednesday, have secured seventh position.
The Vikings round off their campaign on Saturday against ninth-placed Inverness Athletic, who will move above Nairn County reserves if they win this final fixture.
Bonar Bridge had the interval advantage after Adam Mackay opened the scoring, but Thurso made it four successive victories thanks to second half goals from Conor Trueman, Marc Macgregor, Grant Aitkenhead and James McLean.
