Halkirk manager hopes Covid disruption will ease during remainder of season
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Halkirk United manager Ewan McElroy is hoping the disruption caused by Covid-19 will ease as the season progresses.
The Anglers' North Caledonian League match against Thurso was cancelled last weekend because of virus-related issues, and the unavoidable absence of several players at any given time has had a major impact on team selection.
The derby has been rearranged for Tuesday night at Morrison Park.
McElroy remarked: "I’ve just about given up trying to guess what shape the squad will be like for weekend games! You can have 15 or 16 on a Thursday and then lose five or six boys at the drop of a hat due to Covid, isolating, close contacts, etc.
"We had a couple of extra boys at training this week who did well and hopefully we don’t see a flurry of Covid issues again for the remainder of the season."
Halkirk, who were beaten on penalties by Thurso in the Football Times Cup final in November, will set out on another trophy quest on Saturday with a North Caledonian Cup first-round tie at home to Invergordon.
The Anglers would be more than happy with a repeat of the scoreline when the Easter Ross side visited Morrison Park on league business earlier this month – McElroy's men came back from 2-0 down to win 4-2.
“All teams will want to have a good run in the cup," McElroy said. "We obviously have a massive challenge ahead of us – playing Invergordon in the first round is about as hard as it gets.
“We are yet to play Loch Ness who are top and doing well. Invergordon are always strong, well drilled and hard to beat. At the minute you would likely say they are the two favourites for the league.
“I think all squads have shown over the course of the season that they can take points off each other. I expect a really difficult match but it’s certainly one we are all looking forward to, especially after the frustration of missing out in last weekend’s round of fixtures."
Fixtures: Saturday – North Caledonian League: Golspie Sutherland v Orkney; Loch Ness v Alness United. North Caledonian Cup: Bonar Bridge v Thurso; Halkirk United v Invergordon; Inverness Athletic v St Duthus. Tuesday – North Caledonian League: Thurso v Halkirk United (Morrison Park, 8pm).
