Anglers looking to bounce back in midweek after being hit for six by Fort William
Halkirk United will be looking to get their North Caledonian League campaign back on track on Wednesday night when they visit Golspie.
The Anglers are determined to bounce back from Saturday's 6-1 home defeat to a strong Fort William side.
Steven Anderson scored his first goal for the club but Fort led 3-1 at the break and went on to add three more. The Anglers were reduced to 10 men early in the second half when Kyle Henderson was red-carded.
It leaves Halkirk United seventh in the table after two wins and two defeats.
Manager Ewan McElroy said: "It was certainly not the scoreline we had hoped for.
"We knew it was going to be a difficult game. Fort William have brought in a number of experienced players over the last few weeks and have the majority of the squad training on a full-time basis.
"We actually started the game pretty well. We had three or four really good chances but were just unable to capitalise. Fort William then went up the pitch with their first attack and scored.
"Defensively, as a team we should have done better for the all three goals in the first half. The red card put an end to any real thoughts of a comeback.
"There was obviously a sense of frustration as we had a pretty blatant penalty claim waved away, a goal chalked off at 2-1 and then the red card that nobody from either team could understand.
"Full credit to Fort William, though – they are a markedly improved group and look like they will be right up there come the end of the season."
McElroy added: "We now need to pick ourselves up as we have a really difficult midweek trip to Golspie and then we host Clach at Morrison Park on Saturday. We have a determined group of lads at the club and I have no doubt they will look to bounce back as quickly as possible."
Fort's scorers were Logan Barker, Martin Munro, Michael Rodgers, Asad Ahmed and Amin Benyoucef, along with an own goal.
Thurso had a morale-boosting 5-1 victory over Bonar Bridge at Migdale. Lewis Shepherd, James McLean, Aaron Wilson, Chrissy Green and Rob McLean were on target for the Vikings, with Aiden Stainke replying for the Sutherland side.
Thurso are now sixth, with with same points tally as Halkirk.
Loch Ness moved to the top of the table after beating St Duthus 2-1 at Fortrose. Allan Macphee and Calum Neil scored for Loch Ness, with Ross Tokely on target for Saints.
Golspie maintained their 100 per cent record as they beat Nairn County "A" 2-1 to go third behind Loch Ness and Fort William. Nairn led for most of the match after Kieran Duffty's early opener but Andrew Bremner levelled and Paul Gordon grabbed the winner.
Jordan Knight scored a hat-trick as champions Invergordon cruised to a 5-0 victory over Inverness Athletic at North Kessock. Blair Morrison and Andrew Miller got the other goals.
North Caledonian League fixtures – Wednesday, September 28: Alness United v Loch Ness; Golspie Sutherland v Halkirk United (7.45pm); Nairn County "A" v Invergordon.
Saturday, October 1: Alness United v Bonar Bridge; Fort William v Loch Ness; Halkirk United v Clachnacuddin "A" (2pm); Nairn County "A" v Orkney; St Duthus v Inverness Athletic; Thurso v Golspie Sutherland (2pm).