St Duthus dished out a revenge rout as their 9-1 win against Alness United kept them in the North Caledonian League title chase.
Just two months ago, Alness ran out shock 7-0 victors against the Saints, but the Tain team blasted to victory against their local rivals this time.
In a ruthless first half display, St Duthus went seven up without reply thanks to four goals from Jake Lockett and singles from Adrian Voigt, Finn As-Chainey and Jamie Skinner.
Today’s Man of the Match was Jake Lockett, who grabbed four of today’s goals, assisting another three. Well done Jake! pic.twitter.com/xfwFVuOeVJ
— St Duthus Football Club (@StDuthusFC) December 10, 2022
Adrian Voigt added number eight on 67 minutes before Michael Mckenzie put Alness on the scoresheet.
Bradi Hulme wrapped up the sparkling result for Saints with eight minutes to go, which keeps them 10 points off top spot with two games in hand on leaders Loch Ness.
Alness, with seven wins from 15 games, dipped to sixth in the table, but are still well placed overall in a tight section of the division.
Away win keeps Loch Ness on track
The unbeaten front-runners continue to be Loch Ness after they ran out 4-1 winners at Halkirk United, who like Alness have 21 points on the board.
Allan MacPhee made the breakthrough for the visitors on 28 minutes with the only goal of the first half and he added another five minutes after the interval.
FULL TIME: @HalkirkUnitedFC 1-4 LNFC
Goals from:
A.MACPHEE ⚽️⚽️
C.MACPHEE ⚽️
J.RACE ⚽️#FORZALOCHNESS pic.twitter.com/cXyqpIZMWy— Loch Ness Football Club (@LochNessFC) December 10, 2022
The contest was put out of reach on the hour mark when Conor Macphee made it 3-0, but Halkirk pulled one back through Alan Mathieson with 11 minutes to go.
Josh Race’s goal on 82 minutes was the icing on the cake for Loch Ness, who are showing no signs of stopping in pursuit of their first NCL crown.
Thurso return to winning ways
Thurso moved up one place to 10th when they earned a fine 2-0 result away to Orkney.
The visiting Vikings had not won since September 24 against basement opponents Bonar Bridge, but they dug deep as a James Murray penalty and a goal from Andy Hardwick sealed the points.
Full time score – Orkney 0 v Thurso 2. First half goals from a James Murray penalty and Andy Hardwick #TFC #Vikings @ Kirkwall Grammar School https://t.co/pONO8b5McL
— Thurso Football Club (@ThursoFC) December 10, 2022
Due to the wintry weather affecting pitches, the Clachnacuddin A v Invergordon, Golspie Sutherland v Inverness Athletic and Fort William v Bonar Bridge matches were postponed and will be rearranged for the New Year.
Saturday sees the final round of games before the mini winter break, with the next fixtures after that being on January 7.