Mackay double as Halkirk United extend winning run to six games
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Assistant manager Liam Anderson felt Halkirk United deserved credit for producing yet another positive result on Saturday despite not being at their best.
The Anglers made it six wins in a row in all competitions as they beat Inverness Athletic 3-1 at Morrison Park, with Andy Mackay doing much of the damage with two long-range strikes.
Mackay opened the scoring after nine minutes and Jonah Martens doubled Halkirk's lead after a quarter of an hour with a lob over the keeper. Martin Duncan reduced the deficit six minutes from half-time with a deflected free kick, but Mackay fired in his second of the afternoon at the start of the second period and that was how it stayed.
"We had a few players missing but credit must go to the squad for still finding a way to get a positive result," Anderson said. "It wasn’t one of our better performances this season but to still manage to pick up three points can only be a good sign.
"Another pleasing aspect of the game was we were able to welcome back Korbyn Cameron and we managed to give him some game time after a number of weeks out with a knee injury. That is a massive boost with the games we have coming up, so hopefully we can keep Korbyn and everyone else injury-free for the run-in to the end of the season.
"Andy Mackay was excellent and deserved to get man of the match after scoring two really good goals and tracking back to do the dirty side of the game as well."
Anderson added: "Inverness made it difficult for us – a change of formation in the first half for them really put us under pressure for periods of the game, but defensively I thought we were really good. We have added the experience of Kyle Ross to the team recently which has helped massively."
Attention now turns to Wednesday's trip to take on Golspie. The Anglers won 3-0 when the teams met at King George V Park earlier this month in the semi-finals of the North Caledonian Cup.
Thurso were level with St Duthus going into the last eight minutes at Grant Park after James McLean scored in the 65th minute to cancel out an opener by Will Ross midway through the first half. However, Jake Lockett's late double secured the three points for the Tain outfit.
A first-half goal by Miller Mackay gave Golspie a 1-0 win at home to Orkney.
Loch Ness know that a win is vital if they are to remain in the North Caledonian League title mix after this weekend.
Shane Carling’s side had a nine-point lead at one stage but have slipped to second place, two points behind Invergordon, who picked up a 1-0 win at Nairn County "A" on Saturday thanks to a second-half strike by Kyle Maclean.
Loch Ness travel to Tain to take on St Duthus this weekend, while Invergordon are at home to Halkirk.
North Caledonian League results – Saturday: Golspie Sutherland 1, Orkney 0; Halkirk United 3, Inverness Athletic 1; Nairn County "A" 0, Invergordon 1; St Duthus 3, Thurso 1.
Fixtures – Wednesday, March 23: Golspie v Halkirk United (8pm).
Saturday, March 26: Alness United v Orkney (12.45pm); Invergordon v Halkirk United (2pm); St Duthus v Loch Ness (2pm); Thurso v Bonar Bridge (2pm).
Wednesday, March 30: Thurso v Golspie (8pm).
