Golspie Sutherland boss Mark McKernie insists there is plenty for his improving side to aim for in the remainder of the North Caledonian League season.
Champions two years ago, the King George V Park side are not in contention for the main prize this time.
Ahead of Saturday’s home match against Alness United, they are eighth in the table, but just three points behind fourth-placed Fort William.
They are, however, a whopping 17 points off the pace set by title favourites Loch Ness, albeit with two games in hand.
Eight wins and six defeats highlight Golspie’s frustrations this season, but they do have a North Caledonian Cup semi-final to look forward to.
At the weekend, they were pegged back twice in a superb quarter-final against Halkirk United before an own goal stemming from a Korbyn Cameron cross took Golspie through to a semi-final against Loch Ness on March 18.
FULL TIME!!!!!
An excellent game is won by us with almost the last kick of the game!
WE PROGRESS TO THE SEMI FINAL
Golspie 3-2 Halkirk
💙⚽️💙⚽️
— Golspie Sutherland (@GolspieSuthFC) February 4, 2023
The league leaders saw off St Duthus to book their place in the last four.
In the other quarter-finals, Nairn County reserves beat Alness United 2-1 and they will meet Invergordon, who edged past Inverness Athletic 3-2 after extra-time.
Cup assault is driving Golspie on
McKernie says the introduction of young players to his player pool this season has meant it has been a transitional period, but he sees plenty to be upbeat about ahead of these last few months.
He said: “We had lost a few boys at the start of the season, with some away travelling but they have come back, which has helped us out in terms of numbers.
“I knew we’d be a wee bit inconsistent with some younger boys and it’s been a season where the squad has needed a bit of attention.
“We all agreed that the league has gone for us, so we wanted to try and put everything into the cup and see what we can achieve.
“We were a bit unfortunate last time we played Loch Ness (in a 4-3 defeat in October), so we’re looking forward to playing them in the semi-finals.
“The cup is all we have left to play for, so we will give it our best shot.”
Strong finish in league is goal for Golspie as they look to be kingmakers
McKernie explained adding some experience to the ranks bodes well in the longer term.
He said: “We have boys like Craig Ross and Sam Mackay who have come in to bolster our squad, which is good.
“Hopefully they can come in and enjoy it with a view to getting them in next season and building again.
“Although we can’t win the league this year, we still want to have a say in who does win it.
“We will try and pick up as many wins as we can and finish strongly to put ourselves in as good a position as we can for next season.”
Todays @NorthCaleyFA full time result pic.twitter.com/9nuYmKANZZ
— Alness United FC (@AlnessUnitedFC) February 4, 2023
Alness defeat still in mind for Golspie boss
Saturday’s opponents Alness were too slick for Golspie when they met in November, so McKernie will be on his guard for this Saturday’s contest.
He added: “Last time we played Alness, they beat us 6-2 earlier on in the season.
“As a team it was an off-day altogether.”
Ninth-placed Alness will be seeking to bounce back from their cup loss at Nairn under the continued management of Robert Mitchell and Chris Graham, who replaced boss Robert MacCormack after he stepped down last week.
Orkney crunch test for Loch Ness
Elsewhere this Saturday, Loch Ness will aim to at least maintain their 10-point league advantage over St Duthus, but face a tough test in Orkney, while the Tain Saints will aim to cash in on any slip-up as they host Clachnacuddin’s young ‘A’ side.
It’s also third v fourth as Inverness Athletic welcome Fort William to North Kessock, while defending champions Invergordon, with four games in hand on Loch Ness, aim to keep their title bid alive when they take on visitors Nairn County ‘A’.
Basement team Bonar Bridge hunt for their second league win of a tough term when they travel to Thurso, who are two places higher.
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