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Banks hails his players after Golspie clinch North Caledonian League title


By Staff Reporter- NOSN

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GOLSPIE Sutherland clinched the North Caledonian League title with a 1-0 victory against outgoing champions Orkney at Kirkwall Grammar School's 3G pitch.

It took a superb strike from former Wick Academy forward Lukasz Geruzel to break the deadlock in a closely fought contest.

Golspie manager Andrew Banks was delighted with the response from his players after they lost 2-0 to Inverness Athletic the previous week.

He said: “It was an unbelievable performance from the boys. I'm not sure many people gave us much of a chance of beating Orkney after we lost the week before. But the players dug deep and showed why they are champions.”

He added: “I felt we have been the best team this season, even from an early stage. The only people who could have stopped us from winning the league were ourselves. We almost managed to do that – thankfully it didn't happen.”

In the only other league fixture, Alness United hit the goal trail in an 8-3 romp against Inverness Athletic at the Highland Football Academy.

Invergordon, who had to settle for the runners-up spot again, reached their second cup final of the season. They defeated Jock MacKay Cup semi-final opponents St Duthus 4-0 at Grant Park.

Steven Sutherland flies in with a tackle on Innes Mackintosh during a recent North Caledonian league derby between Halkirk United and Thurso. Both teams will be looking for an improvement next term. Picture: James Gunn
Steven Sutherland flies in with a tackle on Innes Mackintosh during a recent North Caledonian league derby between Halkirk United and Thurso. Both teams will be looking for an improvement next term. Picture: James Gunn

Thurso and Halkirk United will be looking to push on next season after the Caithness sides finished in seventh and eighth place respectively.

It has been a hard slog for both teams this term with the occasional good result thrown in.

Stevie Reid's Thurso have been hit hard by injuries, and without a settled team they have found victories hard to come by.

Expectations were possibly not as high at Halkirk but Gordon MacDonald's youngsters nevertheless produced one or two shock results. The most remarkable was the 5-4 victory against Inverness Athletic which saw them come from 4-0 down to win the match.

Halkirk's season was overshadowed by the tragic death of teenage player Connor Cook in December. His team-mates paid a fitting tribute to him in their next fixture – a 2-1 win against Thurso.

Managers of both Caithness teams will be looking for a greater level of consistency next

season.

The only fixture this Saturday is the league "double header" between Bunillidh Thistle and Orkney which is being played at Sir George's Park in Thurso (2.30pm).

With a maximum of six points at stake, a win would see Orkney shoot up to third place in the table.


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