Anglers aim for fourth successive league win as they go to Fort William
Halkirk United will be aiming to extend their winning run in the North Caledonian League to four games when they travel to Fort William on Saturday.
The Anglers continued their impressive run of results with a 2-0 home victory over Inverness Athletic last weekend and will now seek to avenge the 6-1 defeat they suffered when Fort came to Morrison Park in September.
The win against Athletic means sixth-placed Halkirk are level on points with the Lochaber side, although Ewan McElroy's men have played two more games.
"It'll be a hugely difficult task playing Fort on their home turf," McElroy said. "If we can travel with a strong squad then you always have a chance, but we are under no illusions it will be a difficult game."
The Anglers secured another three points on Saturday with well-taken goals by Steven Anderson and Kuba Koziol either side of the half-hour mark.
With 29 minutes gone, Anderson kept his composure to slot the ball home after Conor Trueman had played him through.
A couple of minutes later, Koziol doubled the lead with a great solo effort. He picked up the ball around 10 yards into his own half and ran at the Athletic defence before firing it into the bottom corner.
Halkirk's Marc Coghill was sent off just after the hour for a second bookable offence.
"It was a strong squad performance," McElroy said. "We played some good football in the first half and scored two good goals – Conor Trueman with an inch-perfect pass to Steven, who is so dependable in those positions, and a trademark solo goal from Kuba.
"Going into the second half we had a couple of really good chances to extend the lead. Conor Cormack, who was excellent, came close in a one-versus-one.
"With the sending off, the boys had to dig deep and it became more of a battle. That’s what impressed me most – the work rate and desire to work for each other was clear to see.
"Our back four were also solid. Bryan Reid and Sam Barclay, who was man of the match as a stand-in left-back, were composed and dependable for the duration.
"Another positive was welcoming back Stuart Sinclair and Don Swanson. It was the first game of the season for both and it was great to see them both back out playing."
North Caledonian League results: Alness United 2, Clachnacuddin "A" 1; Golspie Sutherland 3, Fort William 2; Halkirk United 2, Inverness Athletic 0; Invergordon 9, Bonar Bridge 0; Loch Ness 2, Thurso 0; Orkney 2, St Duthus 2.
North Caledonian League fixtures for Saturday, February 25: Alness United v Orkney; Bonar Bridge v St Duthus; Fort William v Halkirk United (1pm); Loch Ness v Clachnacuddin "A"; Nairn County "A" v Golspie Sutherland; Thurso v Invergordon (1pm).
