Thurso and Halkirk United exit Football Times Cup after first round defeats to Inverness Athletic and Alness United ahead of derby clash in North Caledonian League
Thurso and Halkirk United both went out of the Football Times Cup in the opening round last Saturday.
Tough draws against in-form teams for each side proved too tricky to overcome, with Thurso being beaten by league leaders Inverness Athletic.
The North of Scotland Cup semi finalists had a two-goal advantage by half time thanks to a brace from Bradi Hulme.
Lewis Mitchell and Russell MacIntyre would then add to their lead after the restart, making it 4-0 by the time the final whistle was blown.
Halkirk United had a closer game, going down to the wire against an Alness United outfit who have won both of their league matches to date this season.
Jonah Martens and Ryan McFee scored for their respective sides in the first half, with a strike from Ian Ross proving to be decisive in the second as Alness won 2-1.
There is not long to wait before getting a chance to bounce back to winning ways, though, with a Caithness derby tomorrow night.
Halkirk will have home advantage over Thurso in the 8pm kick off, with both sides having the opportunity to rise up the North Caledonian League table ahead of the weekend.
