‘No expectations’ but Halkirk get off to a winning start on county league return
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Getting back into the county league was the main objective for Halkirk this year, according to player/co-manager Michael Bremner.
There were “no expectations” in terms of results as the village outfit returned to competitive summer football for the first time since before the pandemic.
But they got their second division campaign off to a perfect start with a 5-2 victory over Thurso Swifts on Thursday night.
Bremner (40), who was 14 when he first played for Halkirk, is sharing manager duties with Paul Lockhart.
“We decided about a year we needed to get Halkirk back going,” Bremner said. “They had an AGM and we said we’d both take it.
“We’re just delighted to get Halkirk back in the division and back playing again. That was our main objective at the start – we had no expectations or anything.
“We just wanted to get a team. It didn’t matter who was playing, as long as we were back in it and we could build from there.
“But it has started off pretty well. We’ve managed to pull a good squad together.
“We’re happy just to be in the league, if we only win a couple of games the whole year… we might still only win a couple of games the whole year!”
In a match that was switched Morrison Park, Halkirk led 2-0 at half-time thanks to a double from Owen Lockhart. Swifts battled back to make it 2-2 with goals from Darryn Mackay and Kian Mackay, but Bremner restored Halkirk’s lead with a header before further strikes from Shaun MacDonald and Alan Larnach.
Halkirk’s Facebook post enthused that Bremner “rose like a salmon” for his goal.
The man himself said: “It was quite a good one!”
Bremner added: “As long as I can contribute I’ll try and play, but if I feel I can’t give much then I’ll just take myself out of it.
“It’s going to be tough. It was a good game against Swifts. We’ll take each game as it comes and we’ll see how it goes.”
Speaking before the season began, club chairman Stevie Elder said it would be “one step at a time” for Halkirk, adding: “The first thing is to get a team out for the season and build from that.”
Waterlogged pitches across the county caused disruption to the opening round of fixtures, the latest postponement being Keiss v Pentland (scheduled for tonight) in Division Two.
In Division One, champions Wick Groats kicked off their campaign with a comfortable 5-1 victory over newly promoted Lybster at the Upper Bignold Park on Thursday.
Taylor Campbell, Ross Davidson, Liam Bremner and Greg Shearer scored for Groats, along with an own goal, with Gary Weir on target for Lybster.
CAFA results – Division One: Wick Groats 5, Lybster 1. Division Two: Halkirk 5, Swifts 2.
Fixtures – Friday – Division Two: Acks v Top Joe’s.
Tuesday – Division One: John O’Groats v High Ormlie Hotspur; Staxigoe United v Wick Groats. Division Two: Swifts v Watten.
Wednesday – Division One: Castletown v Pentland United; Lybster v Wick Thistle. Division Two: Keiss v Acks; Top Joe’s v Halkirk (all 6.30pm).
