High Ormlie Hotspur full of confidence for Kirkwall trip
High Ormlie Hotspur will be full of confidence when they travel to Orkney on Saturday in the Highland Amateur Cup after getting the better of Wick Groats in midweek.
A double by James Mackintosh put the holders through to next week’s Eain Mackintosh Cup quarter-finals. Their opponents in the last eight will be Pentland United, but first comes the Highland Amateur Cup second-round tie against Kirkwall Thorfinn.
Player/co-manager Ryan Sutherland Jnr said: “Kirkwall Thorfinn are a good team with a good history in the Highland Amateur Cup, so I’d imagine it’ll be a tough fixture. But with how we’ve been playing recently, we’ll be going over there with confidence and hoping we can get a result.”
In Tuesday night’s tie against Wick Groats at Ormlie, Mackintosh scored a goal in each half – turning a defender before running through and slotting the ball in for the first, then heading in a cross from Aaron Wilson.
Sutherland said: “It was a disappointing one against Pentland United in the league [a 3-2 defeat on Tuesday last week] after such a good start to the season. But we said to the boys there’s still a long way to go – we need to pick ourselves up and bounce back here.
“That happened over the 8-2 win against Wick Thistle, and then on Tuesday night as well I thought we were absolutely tremendous in that first half.
“Fair play to Groats, they put us under constant pressure in the second half, but we defended well and we really dug in.
“We’ve been 2-0 up earlier on in the season and teams have come back against us. But I think this shows a bit of character about us as well, managing to hold onto that 2-0 lead.”
Looking ahead to the Eain Mackintosh quarter-final next Tuesday, Sutherland said: “We’ve had two really close battles with Pentland United. It’s not going to be easy – they’re one of the best teams in the county.
“But with the team we’ve got we should be looking to compete with every team that we come up against. We’ve yet to beat them this season, so here's hoping.”
Pentland United, record eight-times winners of the Highland Amateur Cup, have a home tie against Shetland outfit North Isles.
Speaking after United’s 2-1 win at Castletown in the Eain Mackintosh Cup, co-manager Michael Gray said: “Information [about North Isles] is very difficult to come by. We can see that they’re going pretty well in their league up in Shetland but you just don’t know what team is going to travel to play us.
“We were speaking about it before the game and some people actually think that’s not a bad thing, having that little bit of mystery. Obviously then as problems appear in a game you've got to try and find solutions.
“This is our third time in Castletown this season already. You kind of know what type of game you’re going to get.
“We don’t know what it’s going to be and I suppose that’s the beauty of the Highland Amateur Cup. Whenever we’ve encountered a Shetland team they’ve always been technically good, fit, strong, and I don’t think we’ll see anything different on Saturday.”
In 2023 the Stabbies lost in the preliminary round of the Highland Amateur Cup and failed to reach the final in any of the local knockout tournaments.
Gray said: “With a Saturday game it’s nice to socialise with the team and get that bonding. It’s something that we missed last year drastically.
“We’re keen to make up for it this year and see if we go deep into the competition.”
Thistle also take on unfamiliar opponents – in their case Sleat and Strath, from Skye, who have taken maximum points from their opening four games in the West Highland AFA league
Thistle manager Owen Harrold said: “To be honest I don’t know much about Sleat and Strath. They seem to be going well in their league so we’re expecting a tough match.
“We seem to have picked up some injuries against Staxigoe on Tuesday night so we will have a clearer picture of the squad’s depth over the next few days.
“I’m sure the lads will put on a strong performance and hopefully it’ll be enough to get us through to the next round.”
Lybster go to neutral Stromness to take on Lerwick Thistle, with the Caithness side boosted by a 4-1 win at Keiss in the Eain Mackintosh Cup. Tony Miller gave Keiss an early lead but Lybster responded with goals from Greg Mackay, Donnie Ross, Ross Steven and Lewis Gill.
Manager Cameron Mackenzie said: “The squad is extremely excited for the Lerwick match. We know bits about Lerwick due to Bobby Gunn’s ties to a Shetland team he helped in the Highland Amateur Cup last year.
“I don’t see much point in thinking about them too much, though. If we focus on ourselves and try our best to implement our style, I’m sure we can go far.”
Halkirk, who had an outstanding 8-3 win at Lochinver in the first round of the Highland Amateur Cup, are off to Ullapool for their tie against Stornoway Athletic.
Watten booked their place in the Eain Mackintosh Cup quarter-finals after a 6-2 win against Pentland on Wednesday night. Ross McLeod scored twice for Watten and the others came from Steven Hughes, Connor Davidson, Kai Cameron and Tyler Gordon, with Lee Gordon and Andy Adamson replying for the Thurso side.
Results – CAFA Division One: High Ormlie Hotspur 8, Wick Thistle 2; John O’Groats 2, Wick Groats 3; Staxigoe United 2, Pentland United 2.
Division Two: Acks 2, Pentland 1; Halkirk 2, Watten 1; Keiss 6, Swifts 0.
Eain Mackintosh Cup, first round: Castletown 1, Pentland United 2; High Ormlie Hotspur 2, Wick Groats 0; Keiss 1, Lybster 4; Swifts 5, John O’Groats 2; Watten 6, Pentland 2; Wick Thistle 2, Staxigoe United 3 (after extra time).
Fixtures – Friday, May 31 – Division One: John O’Groats v Staxigoe United. Division Two: Keiss v Acks (both 7.30pm).
Saturday, June 1 – Highland Amateur Cup, second round (ties involving Caithness clubs): Fort William v Wick Groats (3pm); Halkirk v Stornoway Athletic (in Ullapool, 1.30pm); Kirkwall Thorfinn v High Ormlie Hotspur (12.30pm); Lerwick Thistle v Lybster (in Stromness, 12.30pm); Pentland United v North Isles (2pm); Wick Thistle v Sleat and Strath (3pm).
Tuesday, June 4 – Eain Mackintosh Cup, quarter-finals: Acks v Staxigoe United; Pentland United v High Ormlie Hotspur. First round (rearranged): Top Joe’s v Halkirk (all 7.15pm).
Thursday, June 6 – Eain Mackintosh Cup, quarter-final: Swifts v Lybster (7.15pm).
Friday, June 7 – CAFA Division One: High Ormlie Hotspur v Castletown; Wick Thistle v Staxigoe United (both 7.30pm).
Eain Mackintosh Cup, quarter-final: Top Joe’s or Halkirk v Watten (7.15pm).
Saturday, June 8 – Colin Macleod Memorial Cup final: Pentland United v Wick Groats (at Castletown, 3pm).