Anglers will be underdogs as they take on champions Invergordon
Ewan McElroy admits Halkirk United will be seen as underdogs when they take on North Caledonian League champions Invergordon at Morrison Park on Saturday.
However, the Anglers' manager says they will relish the challenge after ending a sequence of three defeats with a convincing 8-1 victory over Bonar Bridge at Migdale last weekend. The Sutherland strugglers scored first but were overrun in the second half and ended up with nine men.
Goalkeeper Stuart Wilson got his marching orders just after the hour mark for a second bookable offence and his team-mate Scott Macdonald was shown a straight red with seven minutes left after he appeared to throw a punch towards Halkirk's Conor Trueman.
McElroy said: "The squad were eager to get going again on Saturday and obviously desperate to get the points. It wasn't an ideal scenario going 1-0 down, but we always looked comfortable in the game and the boys were able to show both patience and a bit of character to come back.
"We travelled down without a recognised centre-back. It has been difficult with the number of injuries that we have had, specifically at centre-back, but the boys asked to shuffle about have been terrific and they just get on with the task at hand.
"It wasn't an ill-tempered game. Granted Bonar had their keeper sent off for a second booking, while the second red was just a rush of blood and a case of the red mist descending.
"I think the crowd at the side were maybe hoping the game would become a bit more feisty, but the boys – and Conor in particular – were able to show a really mature attitude throughout.
"Ben Sinclair made his debut for the season and he was excellent from start to finish despite not playing much football in recent months."
Bonar's Bruce Urquhart opened the scoring after 21 minutes. They held that advantage until eight minutes before the break, when Steven Anderson equalised, and Sinclair soon had them 2-1 up with a spot-kick.
Innes Mackintosh extended the lead a minute into the second half and Kuba Koziol added another five minutes later.
A second penalty award, again converted by Sinclair, resulted in Wilson being sent for an early shower on 63 minutes.
Five minutes later, substitute Hasheem Bremner got in on the act before Anderson got his second with 70 minutes gone.
A moment of madness saw Bonar reduced to nine men after Macdonald appeared to lash out at Trueman, with referee Colin MacDonald brandishing the red card.
Koziol got his second of the game in the final minute.
Looking ahead to Saturday's match, McElroy said: "It is another huge test for the boys. We have a couple of additional knocks to assess and Colin Henstridge is unavailable.
"However, we welcome back Kyle Henderson and are hopeful Andy Mackay will make a welcome return after missing the last three.
"Obviously Invergordon are the current champions and have just beaten Loch Ness in the Football Times Cup. We will no doubt go in as underdogs but it’s a challenge the squad will relish and we are all looking forward to Saturday."
Bonar manager Fraser Heath was surprised that only his player was punished after the second sending-off incident.
He said: "The red card was deserved, as you can't be doing that, but I don't understand how their boys have escaped punishment for their involvement. I mentioned it to the referee at the time and he said he didn't see anything, which is fair as he can't see it all on his own.
"The first 35 minutes were very good from us. We had the lead and we were still creating chances, but a rough few minutes completely changed the game for us and instead of going in at half-time with a lead we were 2-1 behind.
"We need to cut out individual errors as it is really costing us. This is another heavy defeat which comes from heads going down after errors, but I still believe it will turn around in our favour.
"We just have to keep digging deep and battling and it will come."
Bonar remain in bottom place, without a point after six games.
Eighth-placed Halkirk have nine points from their opening seven fixtures.
Invergordon and St Duthus set up a Ross-shire derby in next month's Football Times Cup final after winning their respective semis on Saturday.
Invergordon progressed after beating Loch Ness 3-1 at the Recreation Grounds. Phil MacDonald gave Loch Ness the lead but Invergordon hit back with goals from Ben Kelly, Ruaridh Patience and Jordan Knight.
St Duthus required a penalty shoot-out to see off Clachnacuddin "A" when their tie ended 2-2 after normal time. Ben Bruce and Ross Tokely scored for St Duthus, with Troy Cooper and Kieran Syrjanen replying for the Inverness side.
In the league, Golspie Sutherland were thrashed 6-1 at home by Orkney.
Toby Macleod scored twice with Owen Rendall, Gregor Dowell, James Pickles and Joe Wilson also on target for the rampant islanders. Golspie got a consolation goal through Billy Cairns.
Nairn County "A" and Inverness Athletic drew 3-3 at Riverside Park.
Results – North Caledonian League: Bonar Bridge 1, Halkirk United 8; Golspie Sutherland 1, Orkney 6; Nairn County "A" 3, Inverness Athletic 3; Thurso 0, Alness United 5.
Football Times Cup, semi-finals: Invergordon 3, Loch Ness 1; St Duthus 2, Clachnacuddin "A" 2 (St Duthus won 5-4 on penalties).
Fixtures for Saturday – North Caledonian League: Bonar Bridge v Inverness Athletic; Clachnacuddin "A" v Alness United; Fort William v Nairn County "A"; Golspie Sutherland v Loch Ness; Halkirk United v Invergordon (2pm); St Duthus v Thurso (2pm).