Halkirk to focus on keeping silverware
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IT’S back to bread-and-butter fare tomorrow for Halkirk United after their heroics in this year’s North of Scotland Cup.
After epic victories over Wick Academy and Clach, they were denied what would have been a fairy-tale cup final place after going down 1-0 to Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Monday.
It’s been a whirlwind start for new manager Jock Mackay but he now needs to get his side’s sights firmly set on the start of its defence of the North Caledonian League.
As he prepares to take his league bow at home to Balintore, Mackay is aware the Anglers will be viewed as a popular scalp.
He said: "With us being the defending champions and having beaten a couple of Highland League scalps in the cup, we may be viewed a bit more as a target for other sides.
"I’m happy we have got the experience in our ranks to handle that pressure."
He admits some of his players are a bit down after the semi, which the manager believes they would have gone on to win had they managed to reply to Caley’s early goal.
He said: "A few players are in need of a lift but we need to focus on the priority for us, which is to retain the title.
"The league looks like being very competitive and it’s essential we get off to a good start."
United have no injury problems and should have much the same squad as faced Caley for the match, which kicks off at 2.30pm.
Thurso meanwhile travel to Inverness to provide Clach’s first opponents following their return to the NCL.
Vikings manager Stevie Reid was disappointed with the display in their 0-0 opener versus Alness United on Saturday.
He believes the demands of the newly ended summer season were very apparent in some sub-par performances.
"I didn’t realise how much the summer has taken it out on some of the guys," he said.
"It’s been a tough season, particularly for the Wick Groats and Pentland United players. There’s definitely a lot of staleness in there and we’re certainly not getting the best out of some of them. It may be we need to rotate things to give a few a rest early on."
Reid thought his side played well for spells and believed it could have got all three points from its late push.
Kyle Ross (chest) and Graham MacNab (ankle), who both missed Saturday’s match, are doubtful starters for tomorrow’s clash at Bught Park.
Defender Martin Sutherland is also struggling to recover from the crude tackle which ended his involvement early on against
Alness.
Looking to tomorrow’s match, Reid said: "We don’t really know what we’re going to be up against but we’re expecting a tough match."
Tomorrow’s fixtures – North Caley League (2.30pm): Alness United v Golspie Sutherland; Clachnacuddin v Thurso; Dingwall Thistle v Muir of Ord Rovers; Halkirk United v Balintore.
