Vikings issue statement of intent with three points and a clean sheet
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Thurso issued a statement of intent on Saturday as they eased to a comfortable victory over Nairn County "A" and picked up their first clean sheet since Michael Bremner took over as manager four months ago.
Conor Trueman struck twice and Craig Kennedy added a header as the Vikings ran out 3-0 winners in tricky conditions at the Dammies.
The result lifted Thurso off bottom spot in the North Caledonian League at the expense of their opponents – albeit only for a few days until Nairn jumped up to eighth in the 11-team division by beating Alness United on Wednesday night.
With more players becoming available, Bremner feels the Vikings are showing improvement after a difficult, stop-start league campaign in which they have played fewer games than any other team.
Thurso went into Saturday's match knowing that three points would enable them to leapfrog their opponents in the table on goal difference, at least until midweek.
Trueman opened the scoring after 24 minutes with a brilliantly worked goal and he struck again with 58 minutes gone. Kennedy nodded home the third on 65 minutes to make the points safe.
Thurso will be looking to keep up the momentum when they travel to Tain this weekend to take on St Duthus.
Reflecting on the victory over Nairn, Bremner said he knew that once he began to get some key players back the results would start to pick up.
“It was the first clean sheet since we came in, so that's what our focus was on for the whole of the second half," he said. "I was delighted with the way we played."
Bremner – who made another brief appearance as a substitute – added: “We still had a lot of boys out but hopefully they will come back this week and we can push on again. The focus is on getting up that league."
Bremner rated Trueman's first goal as the best he had seen from his team since becoming manager. After a good build-up involving Ally Macrae and Aaron Wilson, James McLean laid it off at the edge of the box and Trueman hit it first time into the bottom corner.
Saturday's visit to Grant Park will give Thurso a chance to avenge their 2-1 defeat when St Duthus came to the Dammies in January.
Thurso's James McLean looked to have got the decisive touch for the opener that day, although it was credited as an own goal by Lewis Smith.
St Duthus levelled through Paul Gair and Duncan Davidson scored the winner with a powerful header.
“Hopefully we'll get a bit more of a squad back," Bremner said.
Thurso dropped back to the foot of the table as a consequence of Nairn's 2-0 home victory over Alness, with second-half goals from Sam Gordon and Kieran Duffty.
North Caledonian League results – Saturday: Golspie Sutherland 2, Alness United 1; Halkirk United 2, Loch Ness 1; Invergordon 4, Bonar Bridge 0; St Duthus 0, Orkney 2; Thurso 3, Nairn County "A" 0. Wednesday: Nairn County "A" 2, Alness United 0.
North Caledonian League fixtures for Saturday, March 19: Golspie v Orkney (12.30pm); Halkirk United v Inverness Athletic (2pm); Nairn County "A" v Invergordon (2pm); St Duthus v Thurso (2pm).
Wednesday, March 23: Golspie v Halkirk United (8pm).
Saturday, March 26: Alness United v Orkney (12.45pm); Invergordon v Halkirk United (2pm); St Duthus v Loch Ness (2pm); Thurso v Bonar Bridge (2pm).
Wednesday, March 30: Thurso v Golspie (8pm).
