HOME GAME v FORMARTINE UNITED FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
SEAFIELD PARK, GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY, PH26 3HY
SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER 2023 – KO 2pm
This Saturday we welcome players, management and supporters of Formartine United Football Club. Based in Pitmedden in Aberdeen-shire, fifteen miles from Aberdeen, they currently sit in third place in the league and arrive in Grantown following a win last Saturday against second place Brechin. We now enter another tough sequence of games with seventh placed Huntly next week, followed by a visit from Brora Rangers.
Hopefully Rob and the boys can continue their hard work and endeavour from the past few games and manage perhaps a wee upset….
For any Formartine fans coming to Seafield Park for the first time or anyone who needs a reminder of what is available in Grantown click here for information.
The Club would appreciate car drivers to park either in Burnfield car park or the Golf Club car park, which is adjacent to Seafield Park. The Jags would like to thank the Golf Club for letting us use their parking facilities during their winter shutdown..
SATURDAY’S GAME v FORRES
Regarding the result from last Saturday’s match, one of the Forres officials told us that we didn’t deserve to win but we didn’t deserve to lose either – which seems to a recurring motif we’ve heard throughout the season.
I am really looking forward to the games when we see manager Rob having a fully fit squad and all players available for selection as I think we will do just fine…… whoever we play!
Strangely enough we did not score first last Saturday, in fact we didn’t manage to get on the score sheet at all which was the first time we haven’t scored since 28 October.
The game was played in cold and damp conditions, and after a few inches of snow and -6 degrees of frost the pitch surface was difficult and easily cut up (which was a delight for the pitch fixers on Tuesday morning!!) – but that’s what happens in the Highlands playing winter football….
Three former Jags players were in the Forres ranks and one of them Ethan Cairns opened the scoring just after the half hour. Forres doubled their tally on virtually the last kick before half-time after a pretty even first half, although the Jags Taylor Sutherland was highly alert in heading over the bar a lob which looked a certain goal!
Both teams kept up the pressure in the second half and even the floodlights being switched on failed to really light up the game, and it finished two-nil to Forres – and as already stated we put in a hard-working performance and all of the boys gave their all but, again, a couple of mistakes make all the difference between winning and losing.
QUIZ NIIGHT
After the game at Seafield Park we made our way to the Legion in The Square in Grantown for our first fundraising QUIZ NIGHT which was expertly organised and question-mastered by committee member, Tom Clarke, ably helped on the night by fellow committee members Graeme Stuart, Rob Clark and Garry Horton.
With sixteen tables taken and quizzers from all around the Strath, everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Over £800 was raised for the club.
Winning the £100 first prize were the Cromdale Quizzers with 107 points out of a possible 120, followed by Mags Clark’s team named The Ditherers who scored 103.5 points and they each received a bottle of Prosecco courtesy of one of our major sponsors PREMIER Grantown-on-Spey.
Winners of the Wooden Spoon were the young guys from Strathspey Camanachd shinty team who were named Otters Pocket, named in honour of their late teammate CalMac.
The Club would like to thank each and everyone who helped, and took part, and we would imagine it will be repeated sometime in the future…..
XMAS RAFFLE
The aforementioned Jags fundraiser extraordinaire Mags Clark and fellow committee member and Jags commercial manager Rob, are pictured in Grantown’s PREMIER on Wednesday during their all day stay in the store selling the Club’s festive raffle tickets – well done to Mags and Rob, and thanks to PREMIER for hosting.
LOTTERY
As ever we conclude this week’s meanderings offering you a jackpot win of £3700 on our online fundraising lottery – click here if you want to play…
JUST A WEE WORD OF THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS PARTICIPATED IN EITHER OUR QUIZNIGHT, RAFFLE OR LOTTERY – THE CLUB VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR ONGOING GENEROSITY.