Greg Matheson, who is closing in on a record 250 competitive goals for Lovat, showed his readiness to hit that target by firing a hat-trick in their pre-season friendly with Glen Urquhart at Kiltarlity.
The classy attacker, whose highest seasonal tally was 29 in 2018, would have already hit the 250 mark but for the pandemic – but is keen to make up for lost time.
He hit his treble inside an hour of the 3-0 victory before coming off.
Lovat manager Jamie Matheson said: “Greg’s an amazing goalscorer, but he’s had hamstring issues for some time, which is why we took him off.
“Glen have some good young players, but we won well and vice-captain Danny Kelly was fantastic.
“He struggled with a groin problem last season, but he’s 100 per cent now and he’ll have a very big year for us.”
Highland hotshots continue where they left off last season
Last season’s joint top Premiership marksmen, Caberfeidh’s Craig Morrison and Roddy Young of Kingussie, scored two goals apiece when their teams met at Strathpeffer.
Ruaridh Anderson also hit a double as champions Kingussie won 5-2, with James Hutchison grabbing the final goal.
New Kings boss Ian Borthwick said: “It was good to get our first game under our belts and a decent performance.
“Robert Mabon hurt his back at work, but we’re hoping he’ll be fit to face Kinochshiel at the Dell next weekend.”
Borthwick revealed that he has now enlisted Ally MacLeod and Barrie Dallas to assist with the training.
Meanwhile, Conor Golabek, who has switched from Glen Urquhart, made his debut for Cabers, and their manager Garry Reid said: “Conor played well and I was pleased with the team’s second half display.
“Liam Symonds took a blow on the knuckle, but we’re hopeful there’s no break.”
Newly-promoted Skye bolstered their hopes of holding their own in the Premiership by securing a goalless draw against Newtonmore at The Eilean.
The other promoted side, Beauly, saw their fixture at Fort William called off because of a waterlogged pitch and, with no game arranged next weekend, they are struggling for action before the season starts on March 4.
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