Thurso Pentland taking a 'fresh approach' as youngsters get their chance
Thurso Pentland player/manager Ian Smith is confident that his young squad will reap the benefits of competing against more experienced opponents.
The green-and-blacks have lost all their games in Caithness AFA Division Two so far this season and on Tuesday night were beaten 5-0 by town rivals Acks, from the top flight, in the first round of the Eain Mackintosh Cup.
However, Smith says he and assistant manager Gary Bell are focusing on the positives and taking a long-term view.
"At the start of the year we basically had a complete squad rebuild," Smith explained. "We'd had an older squad over the last few years and we'd just been stagnating and we decided to go for a fresh approach of giving young players a chance.
"We've got a lot of decent young players but obviously very inexperienced. It has been a struggle to get experienced players in as well to play alongside them, so obviously we're trying to give them game time – but we'd like to have experienced players in.
"We're still on the lookout to try and bring more experience in to help the young players develop.
"A lot of our players are maybe 15 or 16 this year so they're really just coming to their first year of senior football. It's really just about getting them to develop and get used to the physicality of playing senior football.
"When I took this over, we looked at it and we thought it's maybe going to be a two, three or four-year project. They'll take defeats, especially against better, more experienced teams – but they will eventually come at it, and they will be the team giving out those defeats.
"We're keeping them positive – we're taking the positives from the performances. I'm speaking to them about the good things they've done, to show them what they can improve on, and then building on that in each game.
"Hopefully next year they'll have more physicality as well. And it's about looking for experienced players who are maybe coming to the end of playing first division and saying to them, 'Do you want to come along and help these boys?'"
Kyle Innes got a hat-trick for Acks, with the other goals coming from Marc Keith and Andy Hardwick. Acks had Jake Dunnett sent off.
Acks player/manager Craig Trueman said: "I was happy to win the game but thought we could have played better and made it a bit easier for ourselves. I think we just expected to show up and it would be an easy win and we were a bit flat.
"Fair play to Pentland, they're a very young team and battled away all game. We actually played a bit better after having a man sent off at the start of the second half.
"But wins have been hard to come by this season so I'm happy we're through to the next round."
Smith added: "Acks are a first division team with more experienced players. It wasn't too heavy a defeat.
"We've got a few injuries just now as well so we were missing some players and that could have made a difference."
The first silverware of the county football season will be at stake when Wick Groats take on Wick Thistle in Saturday's Colin Macleod Memorial Cup final in Castletown.
It comes one week after the Wick rivals met in round two of the Highland Amateur Cup. It was level at 1-1 at 90 minutes at the Upper Bignold, with Groats going on to win 3-1 after Thistle had three men sent off in extra time.
Groats were 8-0 winners over Watten on Tuesday in the first round of the Eain Mackintosh Cup. There was a first goal for young Sam Shearer, with the others coming from Alan Mathieson, Michael Steven, Korbyn Cameron, Stewart Atkins, John Budge and Jonah Martens (2).
In another first division versus second division clash, Pentland United beat Swifts 3-0 with goals from Marc Macgregor, Conor Cormack and James McLean.
James Mackintosh helped himself to a hat-trick as High Ormlie Hotspur eased to a 5-0 victory over John O'Groats. William Cannop and Stuart Campbell got the others.
Results – Caithness AFA Division Two: Watten 1, Lybster 9.
Highland Amateur Cup, round two, ties involving Caithness clubs: Castletown 1, Lerwick Celtic 3; Keiss 1, Carloway 5 (at Ullapool); Kirkwall Hotspurs 1, High Ormlie Hotspur 3; Wick Groats 3, Wick Thistle 1 (after extra time).
Eain Mackintosh Cup, first round: High Ormlie Hotspur 5, John O'Groats 0; Pentland United 3, Swifts 0; Thurso Pentland 0, Acks 5; Watten 0, Wick Groats 8.
Fixtures – Thursday, June 8 – Eain Mackintosh Cup, first round: Castletown v Lybster; Staxigoe United v Top Joe's (both 7.15pm).
Saturday, June 10 – Colin Macleod Memorial Cup final: Wick Groats v Wick Thistle (in Castletown, 3pm).
Monday, June 12 – Caithness AFA Division One: Wick Thistle v Acks (7.30pm).
Tuesday, June 13 – Division One: John O'Groats v High Ormlie Hotspur; Pentland United v Castletown; Wick Groats v Staxigoe United (all 7.30pm).
Wednesday, June 14 – Division Two: Keiss v Watten; Lybster v Top Joe's; Swifts v Thurso Pentland (all 7.30pm).
Saturday, June 17 – Archer Shield, Orkney v Caithness.
Highland Amateur Cup, third-round draw: Back v Avoch; Carloway v Golspie Stafford (in Ullapool); Clachnacuddin Reserves v Inver; Harris v Lerwick Celtic (in Maryburgh); Lerwick Spurs v High Ormlie Hotspur (in Kirkwall); Mallaig v Loch Ness; Stromness Athletic v Staxigoe United; Wick Groats v Fortrose and Rosemarkie Union (ties to be played on Saturday, June 24).
Quarter-final draw: Back or Avoch v Mallaig or Loch Ness; Clachnacuddin Reserves or Inver v Carloway or Golspie Stafford; Stromness Athletic or Staxigoe United v Lerwick Spurs or High Ormlie Hotspur; Wick Groats or Fortrose and Rosemarkie Union v Harris or Lerwick Celtic (ties to be played on Saturday, July 15).
Semi-finals on August 5; final on August 19.