Month: July 2025

HOME MATCH v KEITH FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
SEAFIELD PARK, GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY, PH26 3HE
SATURDAY 26 JULY 2025 KO 3pm

This first post’s heading of the new season references the late Ozzy Osbourne, a hero to many of us, who passed away this week and as such we board the crazy train that is the Highland League – destination April 2026. 
As ever the first day of a new season is filled with great anticipation and hope that this one will be better than the last, and I am sure that the squad of boys that Ryan and his coaching staff are putting together will have more impact on the League than we have had for many a season.

On Saturday we welcome players, management and supporters of Keith FC. Last season Keith finished in fifteenth position and in so doing will provide us with a tough opening match, but a match hopefully we can start our campaign with a point or three. – if any of the travelling support want a resumé of Grantown’s amenities click here

Recently we welcomed defenders Bailey Black and Ali Morrison, goalkeeper Danny Gillan, as well as striker Shaun Morrison to the Jags and hope their time here will be very successful, and we look forward to seeing them in action in the coming weeks and months.

STOP PRESS

Ross County Duo Join Strathspey Thistle on Loan

We were delighted to confirm the loan signings of Jamie Williamson and Calum Brown.
Midfielder Jamie and striker Calum are exciting young talents from the Ross County youth system, and now join the Strathy Jags to gain valuable first-team experience in the Highland League.
Manager Ryan Esson said “Jamie and Calum are both promising young players who are eager to develop and challenge themselves. We’re pleased to have them on board and look forward to working with them.”
Welcome to The Jags, Jamie and Calum! 

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MATCH v FORRES THISTLE LAST SATURDAY (19 JULY)
Even though it poured rain there was much to enjoy for Jags’ fans in our last pre-season friendly.
Hopefully a precurser to the season because as the weather improved so did the scoreline, and we finished up with a five-nil win over Forres Thistle.
Goals from Keiran Duffty, Lewis Mackie and a hat-trick for new striker Shaun Morrison gave us hope that we will have a far stronger presence in front of goal this season.
New ‘keeper Danny Gillan has also made a strong start in both games he has played in, and pulled off a fantastic save from a close range effort from one of the Forres forwards.
The only negative from the day was that last year’s Player of the Year Filip Franczak had to limp off after a crunching tackle.

HALF-TIME RAFFLE

The half-time raffle at the Forres game was won by Wendy Shaw from Nairn. 

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PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

Contact Laura :
hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

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SEASON TICKETS

Click here for season ticket info…..

THE NEW COMMITTEE ROOM
Committees throughout the North will be pleased to see that we have now got a designated space for visiting committee members and Jags’ fans season ticket add-on holders.

Thanks go to Charlie Sinclair for sourcing the cabin, Wernick’s from Nairn for supplying and delivering, the guys from Horton Homes for their joinery work and Cask Construction for gifting the kitchen units, JP for broadband and Audrey Sinclair for cleaning and preparing the unit ready for the off……

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LOTTERY NOW £12,000……

As ever we close with details of our fundraising Club Lottery and the jackpot is now a phantasmogorigal  £12,100…….that’s a monthly spending spree of over a £1,000 for the next year if you want…..or put it it away for a rainy day – anyway it’s a great prize to win – click here if you want to play…

LOTTERY CH-CH-CHANGES
After the current jackpot has been won therefore completing that game, there will be some changes.
There will still be a weekly prize of £100 for a consolation winner if their entry matches four of the five numbers drawn, however instead of a weekly increase in the jackpot of £100, this will now be increased monthly. 
The game is to forecast 5 winning numbers, which are drawn at random, from 1-20. The 5 numbers chosen are to be marked by a cross (X).

1. The Jackpot prize starts at £1,000 and the game continues until it is won and starts afresh. As applicable, the Jackpot increases by £100 immediately after the first draw in each calendar month, up to a maximum of £5,000. The Jackpot is then capped at £5,000 until it is won in a weekly draw. 
2. If more than one player has 5 winning numbers, the Jackpot will be divided equally among the winning players. 
3. Should no entry forecast all 5 winning numbers, then any player matching 4 numbers will be entered into a draw for a single Consolation Prize of £100. 
4. THE DRAW will take place every SUNDAY at 7pm unless otherwise advised.
5. The entrant named on the ticket must be at least 16 years of age.
6. All winners will be notified.

SO THAT WILL BE US UNDERWAY ON SATURDAY AND WE WISH ALL THE TEAMS IN THE HIGHLAND LEAGUE ALL THE BEST …….ALTHOUGH MAYBE NOT WHEN THEY ARE PLAYING THE JAGS!!
OUR NEXT GAME WILL BE AN AWAY MATCH AGAINST ROTHES FC ON WEDNESDAY 30 JULY – MACKESSACK PARK IN ROTHES KO-8pm.

WELCOME DANNY GILLAN

STFC are delighted to announce the signing of goalkeeper Danny Gillan, who joins The Jags on a two-year deal from treble-winning Brora Rangers ahead of the 2025/26 season.

The 20-year-old is a familiar face to manager Ryan Esson, with the pair having spent several years together at Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Now reunited at Strathspey, Danny brings quality, leadership, and presence between the posts.
Manager Ryan Esson said “I know Danny really well from our time at Inverness. He’s a top professional and a great character, and he’ll bring experience and consistency to our squad. I’m very pleased to bring him in.”

ANOTHER VERY SUCCESSFUL, BUT EXCEPTIONALLY HOT GOLF DAY

As ever it was a great success. 

At 8.20am the first of thirty-nine teams teed off on Saturday at Grantown Golf Club in a team scramble event with the final team heading out at 2.40.
Our thanks must firstly go to the greenkeeping staff for their immaculate presentation of the golf course.

The weather for this year’s event was hot…very, very hot… in fact so hot that your correspondent and his team after teeing off at 2.30 in the afternoon could only suffer eight holes and my admiration goes out to all the other teams that completed their eighteen holes…did I say it was hot…32°C, only six days have seen a similar temperature in Scotland since 1961, when I was six years old!!!
Working in all that heat our thanks must also go to Nacho and his team who looked after the catering and bar duties tremendously in what must have been extreme conditions both in the club house and at the “Half-Way House”. 

With a score of 48.1 the winners of the Team Event were Dean Harvie, Sam Smit, Michell Drummond and Scott Laing and the Ladies event was won by Maggie Lawson, Debbie Grant, Debbie Kinnaird and Nicola Torrance.

Unfortunately Dean and Maggie were unable to stay until the prize-giving hence they are not in the photos, although Dean is pictured below with son Freddie, as winner of the Half Time Raffle prize at the Dufftown game.
We must also thank the following individuals and businesses whose support and sponsorship made the day possible.
Firstly our thanks go to Mackellar Engineering and 4M Earthing Solutions in sponsoring the event and the following individuals and companies for their generosity with hole sponsorships –
MKM BUILDING SUPPLIES, AVIEMORE (2X HOLES)
MORGANTI BAR, NAIRN
ROSS & SIMPSON CARPETS & VINYL, KEITH
PLANT & FIXINGS, INVERNESS
SCOTT CLARK, GRANTOWN
EMAC JOINERY, FORRES
PLANT & FIXINGS, INVERNESS
McINNES ELECTRICAL, AVIEMORE
CARNVALE KIT BUILDERS, EDINBURGH
SPEYSIDE HOTEL, GRANTOWN
JOHN PATERSON ELECTRICAL, GRANTOWN
AW LAING, GRANTOWN
CASK CONSTRUCTION, GRANTOWN
MAC JOINERY HIGHLAND LTD, INVERNESS
KINETIC RENEWABLES/HORTON HOMES
McCULLOCH PLUMBING & HEATING, GRANTOWN
WJ SELLARS BUILDERS, GRANTOWN
GRANTOWN GARAGE
FORSYTH’S, ROTHES

As ever, thanks go to Donly McLeod and STFC commercial director Laura Mackie for organising and running the competition, and we were very pleased that Grantown Golf Club Captain Fraser Mackellar helped throughout the day helping our own Charlie Sinclair registering teams and finding out their meal requests and checking score cards.

Thanks also go to committee stalwarts Mags Clark who ran a fantastic and successful raffle on the day, and Rob Clark and Graeme Stuart were also selling Lottery tickets –  thanks also go to the other committee members who helped in preparations and help on the day.
Last, but not least, we would like to thank everyone who participated in any way and hope you thoroughly enjoyed yourselves and are, hopefully, already looking forward to next years’ event. 

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MATCH v DUFFTOWN FC – TUESDAY 8 JULY
As we continue our build up to the season (KO 26 July) we hosted Dufftown FC in a friendly on Tuesday night (8th), and  it turned out to be an official 1-0 win …but unofficially it was 2-0. More later!
Dufftown put up a very good defensive display which made it difficult for the Jags to break through, and although we had a lot of possession, chances were very few and far between and it took an excellent drive late in the first half for us to go into the break one up.
Cheered on by our “gang of twelve and a drummer” (although it sounds as though there are a lot more drummers!!) there were many Jags’ changes just after the hour mark, but still the resilient Dufftown refused to be overrun and survived until Aaron Dorran, with probably the last kick of the game, cleverly shot back across goal from a good old fashioned inside right position, and the ball, beat the keeper and scraped in at the right hand post, but a  larger hole in the net than is the customary net size one, and probably as a result of a visiting rabbit or two over the close season, caused the ball to end up against the advertising hoarding making the referee assume, not that he had any reason to not assume, that the ball had passed the outside of the post – and, as you can imagine the said hole was fixed more or less directly just after full time whistle!!

AARON DORAN’S TESTIMONIAL

We thought this was a great photo taken at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness of Aaron and his children being honoured by the players of Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County at the start of proceedings.

A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE

Today, Wednesday 16 July, we took delivery of a toilet block which will be attached to The Mackellar Suite – thanks go to Josh Horton of Horton Homes who made the deal with Wernick’s of Nairn – and our thanks go to them too, especially their delivery man Joe, who had a bit of a job placing the unit on site. Now, hospitality guests and customers will not need to brave the elements having to make their way to our toilet black when nature calls.

LOTTERY NOW £12,000……

As ever we close with details of our fundraising Club Lottery and the jackpot is now a phantasmogorigal  £12,000…….that’s a monthly £1,000 spending spree for the next year if you want…..or put it it away for a rainy day – anyway it’s a great prize to win – click here if you want to play…

LOTTERY CH-CH-CHANGES
After the current jackpot has been won therefore completing that game, there will be some changes.
There will still be a weekly prize of £100 for a consolation winner if their entry matches four of the five numbers drawn, however instead of a weekly increase in the jackpot of £100, this will now be increased monthly. 
The game is to forecast 5 winning numbers, which are drawn at random, from 1-20. The 5 numbers chosen are to be marked by a cross (X).

1. The Jackpot prize starts at £1,000 and the game continues until it is won and starts afresh. As applicable, the Jackpot increases by £100 immediately after the first draw in each calendar month, up to a maximum of £5,000. The Jackpot is then capped at £5,000 until it is won in a weekly draw. 
2. If more than one player has 5 winning numbers, the Jackpot will be divided equally among the winning players. 
3. Should no entry forecast all 5 winning numbers, then any player matching 4 numbers will be entered into a draw for a single Consolation Prize of £100. 
4. THE DRAW will take place every SUNDAY at 7pm unless otherwise advised.
5. The entrant named on the ticket must be at least 16 years of age.
6. All winners will be notified.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, tomorrow night’s (15 July) pre-season friendly versus Islavale FC at Seafield Park has had to be cancelled.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

This means our focus now moves to Saturday and our last pre-season fixture against Forres Thistle FC at Seafield Park, with a KO time of 2pm, and it would be great if you can come and support Ryan and the boys then.
This will be our last pre-season friendly before we kick off the Breedon Highland League season at home to Keith on Saturday 26 July KO 3pm.

MATCH v ROSS COUNTY FC TUESDAY 1 JULY, SEAFIELD PARK.
A huge thank you to Don Cowie, John Robertson and the entire Ross County squad and staff for making the trip through to Grantown on Tuesday night.
It was a fantastic evening and a great test for our squad against top opposition and we appreciated the players and staff for making time for the young fans who attended.
We admired the professionalism and quality Ross County brought to the occasion — and we wish them all the very best for the season ahead!

As you can see from the team lines County had their full squad and played with a different eleven in each half, with goals coming from a header from Keiran Phillips in the sixteenth minute, three second half goals from the very impressive Northern Ireland international Ronan Hale and a further goal from Calum Brown making it five.
If you want to see the goals check out either our own or Ross County’s Facebook pages.

The Jags played very well with some superb defending in the first half but tiredness began to show latterly but both managers were happy with their team’s evening’s work.
Ross County head to Inverness on Saturday for our own Aaron Doran’s testimonial, who, I’m delighted to report started Tuesday night’s match and played forty five minutes.
Thanks also to everyone who came along and created a brilliant atmosphere!

HALF-TIME RAFFLE WINNER

Winner of the half-time raffle draw on Tuesday night was local Jags’ fan Paul Mathieson, a regular at Seafield Park – congratulations Paul.

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PRESEASON FIXTURES

All the preseason fixtures will be at Seafield Park
Next Tuesday (8th) we host Dufftown FC KO 7.30 / Tuesday 15 July v Islavale KO 7.45 and Saturday 19 July v. Forres Thistle KO 2pm

Another date for your diary is an away tie to either Inverness Caledonian Thistle or Lossiemouth in the North of Scotland Cup on Wednesday 20 August KO 8pm.

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GOLF DAY JULY 12
Preparations are well under way for our annual fund raising Golf Day and we look forward to welcoming the teams to Grantown Golf Club a week on Saturday

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ADMISSION PRICES SEASON 2025-2026 

In accordance with all other Highland League clubs the cost of admission to games this season will be 
Adult – £12
Concessions (over 65) – £6
Under 16’s free.

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THE BOARDROOM TAKES SHAPE AND NEW FACES AT THE SNACK BAR

Beginning to take shape is the new Boardroom which we will be using for visiting committee members and will be fully functioning in time for our first SHL home fixture against Keith FC on July 26.

We thank Horton Homes, again, for putting together the kitchen area and we thank Cask for donating the kitchen units  (https://caskconstruction.co.uk)

…..and as you can see from the photo we have new incumbents in our Snack Bar who will be supplying spectators with their pies and Bovril this season…..and, they got off to a great and very  busy start at the Ross County game.

SEASON TICKETS

Great savings on season ticket  prices are available up until our first game of the season against Keith FC on July 26…… 

contact: hospitality@strathspeythistle.com

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LOTTERY NOW £11,8000……

As ever we close with details of our fundraising Club Lottery and the jackpot is now a whopping great £11,800…….click here if you want to play…

LOTTERY CH-CH-CHANGES
After the current jackpot has been won therefore completing that game, there will be some changes.
There will still be a weekly prize of £100 for a consolation winner if their entry matches four of the five numbers drawn, however instead of a weekly increase in the jackpot of £100, this will now be increased monthly. 
The game is to forecast 5 winning numbers, which are drawn at random, from 1-20. The 5 numbers chosen are to be marked by a cross (X).

1. The Jackpot prize starts at £1,000 and the game continues until it is won and starts afresh. As applicable, the Jackpot increases by £100 immediately after the first draw in each calendar month, up to a maximum of £5,000. The Jackpot is then capped at £5,000 until it is won in a weekly draw. 
2. If more than one player has 5 winning numbers, the Jackpot will be divided equally among the winning players. 
3. Should no entry forecast all 5 winning numbers, then any player matching 4 numbers will be entered into a draw for a single Consolation Prize of £100. 
4. THE DRAW will take place every SUNDAY at 7pm unless otherwise advised.
5. The entrant named on the ticket must be at least 16 years of age.
6. All winners will be notified.

Friday 13^th: Inverness Caley Thistle confirmed the details of a testimonial match for current STFC player/coach Aaron Doran with Ross County visiting the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday 5^th July. Kick-off is at 2pm and tickets are available here.

Saturday 21^st: A busy one at Seafield Park with our family fun day, a friendly against an Inverness Caley Thistle XI and entertainment into the evening with live music from Cadence.
Caley’s Under-19’s ran out 4-1 winners on the day with Aaron Doran netting his first goal for the Jags midway through the second half. Speaking to the Press & Journal after the game, manager Ryan Esson said: “At times, we didn’t pass the ball was well as we can, but you have to give the opposition credit for their pressing – they were energetic. For us, it was a good exercise.”

After the visit of Ross County on the first of the month, further friendlies are scheduled for next Tuesday (8th) Dufftown FC, then Tuesday 15^th at home to Islavale FC (7.30pm) and Saturday 19^th at home to Forres Thistle FC (2pm).

Last season’s Player of the Year awards were also handed out with Filip Franczak the big winner, bagging five trophies (Player’s, Coach’s, Directors’ and Committees’) and Young Player of the Year. Josh Race won the Supporters’ vote.

Season Tickets

Season tickets for the 2025/26 season are available at early-bird prices until 13^th July. Adults £120, Concessions £60 (16-18 and 65+), on sale at  hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk 

A reminder of our scheduled fixtures for the upcoming campaign…

Matchday Hospitality

With the fixtures now out, want to enjoy matchday in style? 

Register your interest in matchday hospitality and sponsorship now and get ahead of the game.

Email hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk to express your interest.

Strathspey Thistle Club Lottery – Jackpot Now £11,800!

We would love to see a jackpot winner scoop the big prize and with our jackpot currently sitting at an impressive £11,400, now is the perfect time to enter.

You can enter online through this link and be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize. Don’t miss out – help us spread the word.

Strathspey Thistle website – https://strathspeythistlefc.com

Strathspey Thistle on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/strathspeythistlefc