Stoppage-time exit for 10-man Halkirk United in North Caledonian Cup
Manager Ewan McElroy was left to reflect on a harsh sending-off as Halkirk United suffered a stoppage-time defeat to Golspie in Saturday's North Caledonian Cup quarter-final at King George V Park.
In-form striker Kyle Henderson, who had scored earlier, was shown a second yellow card with a quarter of an hour to go and the 10-man Anglers went on to lose 3-2 after conceding a last-gasp own goal.
"I felt for Kyle and the rest of the boys with the red," McElroy said. "We were getting stronger as the game went on and it was a pivotal point for sure.
"Conditions were the worst of the season and the officials had let four or five similar challenges go unpunished, so for Kyle to then receive the second yellow was frustrating."
Owen Harrold's opener for Golspie on the hour mark was quickly cancelled out by Henderson. Robbie Murray put Golspie ahead again on 77 minutes, only for William Cannop to make it 2-2 in the 85th minute.
The decisive goal came four minutes into injury time when a cross from Korbyn Cameron was diverted in by Halkirk's Bryan Reid.
"There was nothing Bryan could do about it," McElroy said. "It was Bryan's first game back in a number of weeks and I thought he was excellent from start to finish.
"I was pleased that William got on the scoresheet. He was injured the previous week and it was touch and go if he was going to make it.
"Kyle has been playing really well and has built up a good partnership with Kuba Koziol over the past few months."
The manager added: "It was a closely contested match. Both teams had a similar number of chances, and if it was a league game I think both would have been happy enough with a point.
"It was really difficult to get the ball down and play. The pitch and the torrential rain throughout made it really difficult for either team to get a proper foothold in the game.
"The red card probably gave Golspie the edge. I was still confident we could nick something at the opposite end but unfortunately it wasn’t to be."
The Anglers have no game this weekend. Their next match is at home to Inverness Athletic on February 18.
Thurso will be hoping to end a run of three defeats this weekend when they take on the North Caledonian League's bottom side Bonar Bridge at home.
Manager Michael Bremner said: "We're looking to push on from our last game against St Duthus [a 5-3 defeat]. I thought we did well for most of that game other than 20 minutes of madness.
"If we can cut that out I'm confident we can take something from the game. A win would be much needed as we try to get some more points on the board."
League leaders Loch Ness progressed to the semi-finals of the North Caledonian Cup on Saturday with a 2-1 win against St Duthus in Tain.
Loch Ness opened the scoring after seven minutes through Liam Taylor and Phil MacDonald doubled their advantage five minutes before half-time. St Duthus reduced the deficit through Finn As-Chainey with 20 minutes remaining.
Invergordon came back from two down to knock out Inverness Athletic.
Ryan Macleod hit a double for Athletic before goals from Ben Kelly and Stuart Leslie got Invergordon level before half-time. Neither team could find a winner in the second half, but in extra time Invergordon's Niall Docherty struck to seal their place in the semis.
Nairn County "A" defeated Alness United 2-1 to reach the last four of the competition.
Scott Mutch and Kieran Duffty scored for Nairn, with Michael Mackenzie on target for Alness.
There was one game in the North Caledonian League, with Orkney battering Clachnacuddin "A" 7-0 in Inverness. Owen Rendall scored a hat-trick for the islanders, with the others coming from Callan Jessiman, Liam Delday, Chris Simpson and Aiden Cooper.
Bonar Bridge versus Fort William was postponed.
Results – North Caledonian Cup, quarter-finals: Golspie Sutherland 3, Halkirk United 2; Invergordon 3, Inverness Athletic 2; Nairn County "A" 2, Alness United 1; St Duthus 1, Loch Ness 2.
North Caledonian League: Clachnacuddin "A" 0, Orkney 7.