St Duthus defeated Fort William 3-0 to move into second position in the North Caledonian League.
The Tain team are 10 points adrift of pacesetters Loch Ness, who hit 10 goals without reply against basement side Bonar Bridge.
Vitally for Saints, they still have two games in hand over Loch Ness, so might well believe they can make a title push.
Paul Gair opened the scoring for St Duthus on 12 minutes and second half goals from Bradi Hulme and Adrian Voigt earned them a fine home win against last term’s demoted Highland League team.
Following international clearance from the SFA, we are pleased to confirm the signing of midfielder John Maclellan.
A Tain lad, John returns to the local area following a spell in the UAE where he played with Dubai Allstars in the DAFL.
Welcome aboard John! pic.twitter.com/oHYn0w00z0— St Duthus Football Club (@StDuthusFC) November 25, 2022
Saints this week also confirmed the signing on local midfielder John Maclellan, who returns to the area following a spell in the United Arab Emirates where he played with Dubai Allstars in the Dubai Amateur Football League (DAFL).
Loch Ness widen gap with 10-0 rout
Despite the keen chase below them, Loch Ness continue to pull clear at the top of the NCL.
Their stunning 1o-0 rout of Bonar Bridge at Fortrose underlined their firepower.
FULL TIME RESULT:
LNFC 10-0 @bonar_fc
Thanks to Bonar Bridge for the game and all the best to them for the rest of the season. Goals from 👇
Allan MacPhee ⚽️⚽️⚽️
Phil Macdonald ⚽️⚽️⚽️
Josh Race ⚽️
Scotty Morrison ⚽️
Glenn Donoghue ⚽️
and an own goal#FORZALOCHNESS pic.twitter.com/gQ5VqtDnQ3— Loch Ness Football Club (@LochNessFC) November 26, 2022
Goals from Scott Morrison, Josh Race, Phil MacDonald and Allan MacPhee had the front-runners four up at half-time.
MacPhee and MacDonald went on to bag hat-tricks, with Glenn Donoghue scoring and an own goal making it a miserable afternoon for the visitors.
Inverness Athletic rise to third spot
Inverness Athletic returned to winning ways as they ran out 3-1 victors against Nairn County ‘A’ in a game switched from North Kessock to Inverness Royal Academy.
All the goals came in the first half and it was Nairn who opened the scoring on 23 minutes thanks to Tyler Eadie.
Ryan MacLeod equalised two minutes later and further goals from Danni Bruce and Luke Mackay earned Athletic full points.
Athletic were edged out 3-2 by Loch Ness seven days previously, so co-boss brothers Stuart and Andrew Ross will be thrilled by this response.
They have, however, played more matches than those in and around them, so are unlikely to be title contenders, especially with Loch Ness so far in front.
Late drama keeps Invergordon in mix
Current champions and recent Football Times Cup winners Invergordon, who face Loch Ness on Saturday, remain in the mix, despite being fourth in the table.
1-0 @InvergordonFC Colin mason
— Invergordon FC (@InvergordonFC) November 26, 2022
A last-gasp Colin Mason goal away to Golspie Sutherland means they are 11 points off first position, but with three games in hand over Loch Ness, could haul that down to two points.
This weekend’s clash at Invergordon’s Recreation Grounds will be one to watch.
Halkirk dig deep to defeat Alness
Halkirk United are in fifth place as they responded to last week’s loss at Nairn by defeating visitors Alness United 3-2.
Kyle Henderson’s goal for the Anglers was cancelled out late in the first half by Michael Mckenzie for Alness.
Full time Halkirk 3-2 Alness.
— Halkirk United FC (@HalkirkUnitedFC) November 26, 2022
Aaron McNicol restored the advantage for Halkirk and Alan Mathieson took it to three with three minutes to go.
Reece Wilson netted a second goal for mid-table Alness, but time ran out on their bid to snatch a point.
Orkney clinch narrow win over Clach
Orkney were made to work for a 3-2 win by Clachnacuddin’s young visiting ‘A’ side.
An own goal on 35 minutes gave the islanders the lead, but Ryan Walker swiftly levelled to the delight of the Inverness team.
Owen Rendall scores for Orkney 77 minutes @North Caledonian FA @Pentland Ferries @BBC Radio Orkney @GRPlusUK Clachnacuddin FC pic.twitter.com/73xx3lAXIW
— Orkney FC (@OrkneyFC) November 26, 2022
Owen Rendall restored Orkney’s lead, but this time Walker hit the net in quick reply to make it 2-2.
Rendall had the final say when he won the match for the hosts on 77 minutes.
NEXT WEEK'S NCFA FIXTURES. NORTH CALEDONIAN LEAGUE – 3.12.22
Alness Utd v Nairn County 'A'
Clach 'A' v Bonar Bridge
Fort William v Thurso
Invergordon v Loch Ness
Inverness Ath v Orkney
St.Duthus v Golspie SutherlandKick offs are 1 p.m #NCFA #Northcaley pic.twitter.com/oPBnRlzNNv
— North Caledonian FA (@NorthCaleyFA) November 26, 2022
Conversation