Highland League & Scottish Cup 2nd Round round-up
Saturday November 19th
Two-goal Morrison sees red as Clach upset Cove
Clachnacuddin striker Gordon Morrison hit a double and was
then red-carded as the Lilywhites beat Cove Rangers 2-1 in a bad-tempered
encounter in Inverness on Saturday.
The surprise result allowed Clach to climb above Wick
Academy into 12th place in the Highland
League ahead of this weekend's meeting between the two sides at Grant
Street Park.
Morrison opened the scoring with a spectacular volley in the
27th minute. Cove got themselves level midway through the second half with a
Martin Johnston header, but Morrison struck again 10 minutes from the end.
In the closing stages a brawl in front of the dugouts
led to red cards for Morrison and Cove's Paul Emslie, while a member of the
Clach coaching staff and one of the home club's substitutes also got their
marching orders.
Nairn County
and Lossiemouth fought out an entertaining 3-3 draw at Station
Park.
Conor Gethins put Nairn ahead on 20 minutes and Steven
Mackay nodded in number two a couple of minutes later. Lossie responded well
after the break and pulled themselves level with goals from Steven Sim and Liam
Archibald.
Mackay restored Nairn's lead with his second of the
afternoon but a Ross Archibald header earned a share of the points for the
Coasters.
With their nearest challengers losing ground, Forres
Mechanics extended their lead at the top to eight points after a 3-0 victory
over Brora Rangers at Dudgeon
Park.
Garry Tweedie put the Can-Cans ahead just after the
half-hour mark, with Lee Fraser and Kevin Duguid adding further goals inside a
two-minute spell midway through the second period.
Craig MacMillan struck a hat-trick as Buckie Thistle moved
back into the top six with a 3-2 home win against Formartine United.
The visitors took an 11th-minute lead through Callum Bagshaw
but MacMillan produced a quick-fire equaliser from the penalty spot and the
striker headed in his second shortly before the break. Formartine suffered
another blow in first-half stoppage time when Stuart Smith was sent off.
The 10 men got themselves level through Michael McGinlay
just before the hour mark but MacMillan had the final say with another headed
goal three minutes from the end.
There was a similar outcome at Bellslea
Park, where Ryan Christie
pounced late on to clinch a 3-2 victory for Fraserburgh against Rothes.
After a goalless first half, the visitors twice forged ahead
through Iain MacRae and Michael McKinnon only for Peter Alexander Bruce and
Dean Cowie to reply for Fraserburgh.
Home striker Graham Johnston was dismissed with a quarter of
an hour to go but the 10 men snatched all three points when Christie's header
crept over the line.
Ex-Academy midfielder Gary Farquhar was on target for
Strathspey Thistle in their 3-1 defeat to 10-man Turriff United at The Haughs.
Farquhar put the league's bottom side in front with a free
kick after Turriff's Stuart Taylor had been sent off for a last-man foul.
However, Turriff equalised instantly through Dave McKenzie and the skipper
added another before Jerry O'Driscoll made sure of the points.
Academy's Scottish Cup conquerors, Keith, suffered an
agonising exit in their third-round tie against Arbroath at Kynoch
Park.
With the game goalless and seemingly heading for a replay,
Paul Sheerin netted a penalty to send the second division outfit through.
Keith's Kris Niddrie was red-carded for the last-man challenge that led to the
spot-kick.
Deveronvale lost 5-1 away to Morton while Inverurie Locos
were beaten 4-2 at home by Peterhead as HFL involvement in the national
tournament came to an end for another season.
Highland League fixtures for Saturday, November 26:
Clachnacuddin v Wick Academy; Cove Rangers v Buckie Thistle; Formartine United
v Brora Rangers; Forres Mechanics v Deveronvale; Huntly v Fort William; Keith v
Fraserburgh; Lossiemouth v Inverurie Locos; Rothes v Turriff United; Strathspey
Thistle v Nairn County.
