Thurso determined to 'end season on a high' by picking up more points
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Manager Scott Davidson has promised that Thurso will be "putting up a good fight" in Saturday's North Caledonian League clash with second-placed Loch Ness at the Dammies.
The Vikings boosted their chances of climbing off the bottom of the table with a 4-3 win against Bonar Bridge last weekend and Davidson is challenging his squad to finish the season with a flourish.
Bobby Gunn was the four-goal hero for Thurso, scoring twice in each half, as they moved back to within three points of the Sutherland club with a game in hand.
The match, which was switched to the artificial surface at Alness, came one week after Bonar won 2-1 in a basement battle at the Dammies.
Davidson said: "We made it hard for ourselves. We were 4-1 up and very comfortable, then lost two very cheap goals and that put us under a bit of pressure for the last 10 minutes and was probably unnecessary."
Gunn's goals came from a penalty, two close-range finishes and a superb strike from outside the box.
Davidson said: "Bobby came back from injury and obviously did really well to score the goals. It was a team effort and it was a good win.
"The game was switched to Alness in the morning because their pitch was waterlogged. That ruled out three boys because they wouldn't play on the astro, so I ended up having to play 90 minutes myself.
"My body was in agony! I was in the middle of the park with Liam Bain, so thankfully he was doing a lot of running for me and I was just mopping up a lot of stuff.
"There was a bit of disruption in the morning with the three boys being unavailable. I said to everyone, 'Look, this is being changed to an astro and I understand if you don't want to play.' Some are not keen on playing on it at all.
"I said to the boys prior to the game we've got to challenge ourselves to go and win our remaining games this season.
"Another bonus is that our remaining three games are at home. That gives us a wee boost hopefully to try and get maximum points from that and get us up the league a wee bit.
"Obviously we'll still not be in a position that I feel we should be in, but if we can end the season on a high then at least that's something to build on for next season.
"Loch Ness are still in the hunt for the league and they're still in the North Caledonian Cup so they've still got a fair bit to play for.
"But, as always, I challenge the team to try and win our home games at least. We'll be putting up a good fight to try and get three points.
"We will certainly make the game hard for them. Maybe some people will look at the league positions and think that it'll be a pushover, but that won't be the case on our behalf."
Results from Saturday – North Caledonian League: Bonar Bridge 3, Thurso 4; Halkirk United 0, Alness United 2; Inverness Athletic 2, Fort William 3; Orkney 5, St Duthus 3.
North Caledonian Cup, quarter-final: Golspie Sutherland 1, Loch Ness 2.
Fixtures – Wednesday, March 20 – North Caledonian League: Bonar Bridge v Halkirk United (Dalmore Park, Alness, 8pm); Clachnacuddin "A" v Invergordon.
Saturday, March 23 – North Caledonian League: Fort William v St Duthus; Golspie Sutherland v Orkney; Halkirk United v Clachnacuddin "A" (1pm); Inverness Athletic v Invergordon; Thurso v Loch Ness (1pm).
