Thurso manager has seen ‘massive improvement’
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Thurso will be aiming to round off their underwhelming North Caledonian League campaign on a positive note when they welcome Loch Ness to the Dammies on Saturday.
A win or a draw would be enough to lift the Vikings off the foot of the table, as they are level on 13 points with second-bottom Bonar Bridge with one game to go.
Taking anything from the league runners-up, who were last season’s champions, will be a tall order – but Thurso manager Scott Davidson says he has seen a “massive improvement” from the team in recent weeks.
The Vikings followed up their recent 4-3 win against Bonar with a hard-earned 1-0 home victory over Orkney last weekend thanks to Lewis Shepherd’s goal with a quarter of an hour to go.
Then came the eventful derby against Halkirk United at Naver in midweek, with Thurso leading 2-1 at one stage before succumbing to a 6-3 defeat.
“It was a close game against Orkney but I thought we certainly did enough to deserve the three points,” Davidson said. “We played some good stuff during the game and it was a well-worked goal finished off by Lewis.
“I would say the scoreline against Halkirk wasn't a true reflection on the game as a whole. We conceded two very quick goals in the second half that killed the game, unfortunately.
“Our second goal was a great move that saw Mark McCoustra overlap on the right-hand side and deliver a great ball across the face of goal and it was a good finish by Michael Steven.
“Conceding right on half-time was a game-changer too. We didn't come out the way I would have wanted us to in the second half and we were punished for that.
“I believe the referee missed a stonewall penalty when James Murray was brought down by the Halkirk goalkeeper. That might have had an outcome on the final score.
“We’re looking forward to Saturday to try and end the season on a high.
“There has been a massive improvement in the last couple of weeks and we will be doing all we can to get the three points against tough opponents and try to lift ourselves off the bottom of the league.”
Results: Saturday – North Caledonian League: St Duthus 2, Loch Ness 2; Thurso 1, Orkney 0. Tuesday – North Caledonian League: Thurso 3, Halkirk United 6. Wednesday – North Caledonian Cup semi-final: Clachnacuddin “A” 1, Loch Ness 4.
Fixtures for Saturday, April 6 – North Caledonian League: Golspie Sutherland v Orkney (12.45pm); Thurso v Loch Ness (2pm).
North Caledonian Cup semi-final: Halkirk United v Invergordon (2pm).
