Author: Stewart

AWAY MATCH v HUNTLY FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
CHRISTIE PARK HUNTLY AB54 8JE
SATURDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2025 – KICK OFF 3pm

After last week’s disappointing result against Formartine, we head across country to Huntly’s Christie Park and a Breedon Highland League match against The Black and Golds. We haven’t got a great record against Huntly and you would have to go back to, I think, 2015 to our last victory – a home win by five goals to two.
Huntly lie in seventh position on fourteen points, two points more than ourselves and after a two-nil defeat in the local derby against Keith last Saturday, and a mid-week cup tie losing to Formartine, they will be wanting to bounce back but The Jags will be wanting to do the same, so it looks as it could be another cracker of a game. Jags’ fans travelling to the game should be aware of the annual Huntly Hairst festival which may cause traffic interruptions.
Jags’ head coach Ryan Esson will have more or less a full squad to pick from, missing are Aaron Doran and Conor MacPhee, and after having no mid-week game again this week everyone else will be raring to go..

SATURDAY’S GAME v FORMARTINE UTD AT SEAFIELD PARK

Both teams started the game well with the visitors having slightly more of the play, but it remained much the same until half-time.
Two minutes after the break Formartine were slightly fortunate with Julian Wade taking full advantage of a ricochet to put United one up. However ten minutes later the Jags’ Josh Race scored a great goal. He took posession of the ball just inside his own half and raced towards goal and and from about twenty yards out smashed a curling shot into the top right hand corner levelling the score.

However Jags’ joy lasted only three minutes when a defensive mix-up allowed Wade to score his second of the afternoon and that was that. It was a shame as we had taken the ascendancy before and after our goal and had we been able to maintain that and not lose the second goal the outcome could have been different….but……
Head coach Ryan Esson was generally pleased with the overall performance especially as Formartine sit in third place in the league, but again he was disappointed with both goals conceded.
HALF TIME RAFFLE

A situation arose which hasn’t happened for a while in that the winning ticket drawn at Saturday’s match was not claimed – so if you have the other half of the ticket pictured, please produce it at the next home match and collect your winnings.

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WELCOME TO A NEW SPONSOR

Strathspey Thistle FC are delighted to welcome LJF Powder Coating Ltd as a new Back of Shirt Sponsor for the season! 
We’re excited to have them join the Strathy Jags family and proud to carry their name on the back of our shirts as we compete across the Highland League.
A huge thank you to everyone at LJF Group for their support, it means a lot to the club. “We’re thrilled to welcome LJF Group on board. Their support is a fantastic boost for the club, and we look forward to building a strong partnership together.”– Grant Mackellar, CEO Strathspey Thistle FC

SEPTEMBER DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

SCOTTISH CUP DRAW
On Sunday evening live on SFA’s YouTube channel was the First Round of the Mens’ Scottish Gas Scottish Cup and we were were handed a home tie on Saturday 27 September against Dundee North End FC – who have won the SJFC Midland League Championship for the last two years and whose journey in their first ever Scottish Cup last year ended with Airdrieonians beating them in the Third Round.

For all information contact : hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

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OTHER NEWS

STFC would like to send congratulations to both Aberlour Villa and Badenoch United. Aberlour Villa won the Donald McNair Cup making them Scottish Welfare Champions and Badenoch United won our local Welfare League – The Strathspey & Badenoch Welfare League….well done guys! 

However, we were disappointed to learn a couple of weeks ago that Don Cowie had left Ross County – Don who is married to Shelley, a Scottish Football Internationalist herself along with her twin sister Suzanne, and who grew up in Grantown so the Jags’ have always taken a great interest in Don’s career from his playing career with Ross County, Inverness Caley Thistle, Watford, Cardiff City, Hearts and his return to Ross County where he became Assistant Manager before taking over as gaffer – unfortunately results over the past few months didn’t go his way so he offered his resignation last month. Always the gentleman we wish Don all the very best in his next career move. We also wish incoming boss Tony Docherty all the best in his quest in taking The Staggies back to the Premier League.
We have also loaned out Bailey Black to North Caley League newcomers Inverness Thistle joining our other loanee Lewis Mackie and we expect to see them back in the New Year.

LOTTERY NOW £12,700

It’s a ginormous amount –  £12,700, yes £12,700, for you to win by playing our online fundraising lottery – 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.

Wednesday 30^th July: We left last month’s newsletter just before the away game at Rothes and what a game it turned out to be as the Jags recovered from losing an early goal to take a 3-1 lead, Shewan, with two, and Morrison on target, before the hosts scored twice in eight minutes to make it all square on 70 minutes. 
Up stepped skipper James McShane with six minutes left to get the winner and make it two wins from two.

Saturday 2^nd: A long trip to Brechin City to face one of the pre-season title favourites and a sign of the Jags’ mentality this year is that we were disappointed to come away from Glebe Park having lost 3-0. 
The home side’s goals all came in the first half and their manager Ray McKinnon told the Press & Journal afterwards: “I was a bit frustrated with the way the match went in the second half.
“Strathspey are a much improved side from last season and they made things extremely difficult.”

Saturday 9^th: Banks o’ Dee were the visitors to Seafield Park and for 78 minutes the game was goalless with chances for both sides. However, it was the men from Aberdeen who finished the stronger and netted three times to take away a similar number of points.
Jags manager Ryan Esson, although annoyed that a first-half penalty shout wasn’t given, was disappointed with his side’s defending which contributed to the final scoreline.

Wednesday 13^th: A day that will long be remembered by Jags’ supporters after a scoreline that will have turned heads across the Highland League and deserves to be written in bold.

Buckie Thistle 1-4 Strathspey Thistle (Morrison 2, Brown 2)

Manager Ryan spoke to the Strathspey Herald after the game and said: “It was a whole different level last night and I can’t speak highly enough of the players.
“The effort and the way they approach things: everything that I’ve asked them to do they did.”
Possibly the club’s best ever result in our time as members of the Highland League, certainly away from home, and one that was rightly celebrated by the players and travelling fans at the full-time whistle.

Thursday 14^th: Thanks to stalwart STFC committee member Mags Clark for attending Grantown’s Farmers Show on behalf of the club, publicising the weekly lottery draw and its ever increasing jackpot while also selling a range of merchandise.

Click here to visit STFC on Facebook

Saturday 16^th: A fine afternoon weather-wise and yet another excellent result for the Jags as they despatched Deveronvale 3-0 thanks to goals from Shaun Morrison, Calum Brown and Daniel Whitehorn.
That made it four wins out of six in the opening weeks of the Highland League season.

Wednesday 20^th: A short trip to Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s Sarens PSG Stadium for a North of Scotland Cup tie and, after a difficult couple of seasons, the ‘other’ Jags showed that they are firmly on the up under their new ownership. 
The SPFL League One club scored six goals in the first-half but were held at bay after the break in what was a positive experience overall for STFC and we thank Caley for their hospitality and wish them well for the season.

Thursday 21^st: It was confirmed that both Keiran Duffty and Lewis Mackie had left the Jags – Keiran on a permanent deal to Nairn St Ninian and Lewis on a loan deal until the end of the year with Inverness Thistle of the North Caledonian League.

Saturday 23^rd: A heavy defeat at Clachnacuddin brought the Jags back to earth a little following recent good results in the league. 
The visitors thought they had taken the lead only for an offside flag to rule out the strike but after that there was little to shout about as the home side scored six without reply.

Saturday 30^th: A hard-fought home game against Formartine United went the way of the visitors who scored twice in the second-half in between a superb equaliser from Josh Race.

Sunday 31^st: Head to our social media pages to find out who the Jags will play in the First Round of the Scottish Cup following this evening’s draw.

Seafield Park Community Trust

The newly-formed Seafield Park Community Trust (SPCT) is getting ready to give the old Scout Hut in Grantown-on-Spey a new lease of life. Set up in April 2025 as a registered Scottish charity, the Trust is run by a team of six local volunteers who want to create a warm, well-equipped space that adds to what’s already on offer in the town, and also helps groups who don’t currently have the right kind of venue. The plan is to transform the building into a hub for local uniformed groups such as the Scouts, Brownies and Guides, as well as sports teams in the town.

SPCT Chair, Charlie Sinclair, said: “We’re really keen to build something vibrant and inclusive that gives local young people the kind of facilities thet deserve.”

The Trust will soon be engaging with local groups and residents to gather ideas and make sure the final plans match what the community needs.

HOME MATCH v FORMARTINE UNITED FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
SEAFIELD PARK, GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY, PH26 3HE
SATURDAY 30 AUGUST 2025 KO 3pm

This Saturday after a couple of unsuccessful visits to Inverness we welcome the players, management and supporters of Formartine United FC.
Over the past couple of seasons our matches against United have resulted in some topsy turvy results and although we have not managed a win we’ve been very close…and hopefully so it will be on Saturday with perhaps us keeping the three points at Seafield Park.
Formartine currently sit in fourth position in the table on fifteen points, three points ahead of us so it will be a decent challenge but our home form so far has been good, so fingers crossed, it will stay that way and we will stay unbeaten.
If any of the Formartine supporters want a quick resumé of what’s available in Grantown – click here

CLACH GAME

Well after a bad result in the North of Scotland Cup game against Inverness Caley Thistle in the midweek, we returned to Inverness to face Clachnacuddin FC at Grant Park and although we would be missing a couple of this season’s influential players no one from the travelling support were prepared for what happened. 
We scored with what we thought a really good goal in the eighteenth minute, but it was ruled out as being offside – a decision that many spectators from both sides disputed….but the decision stood and, as usual in football, Clach go straight up the pitch and score! Clach then doubled their tally in twenty-seven minutes, but, just before half-time Jamie Calder had a great shot saved by Mark Ridgers in the Clach goal.
Two nil at the break it was …….then collapse. Four Clach goals in the second half and the thoughts of many of the Jags’ fans was that we had hoped results like this were very much behind especially in League games – as we have proved in our start to the season.
It capped a very negative week for the Jags – no goals scored and twelve goals against.
A vast improvement will be needed for Saturday’s clash against Formartine.

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Our home game against Forres Mechanics scheduled for Saturday 13th September has been postponed.
It will now be played on Wednesday 8th October, kick-off 8:00pm at Seafield Park.
On 13th September we are now away to Brora Rangers in the Highland League Cup (3:00pm kick-off).

A MESSAGE FROM THE HIGHLAND LEAGUE REGARDING PYROTECHNICS
PLEASE READ AND OBSERVE – THANK YOU.

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MATCHDAY HOSPITALITY

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BOTH MATCH DAY HOSPITALITY AND PLAYER SPONSORSHIP PLEASE CONTACT

Laura on hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

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LOTTERY NOW £12,600

It’s a ginormous amount –  £12,600 – for you to win by playing our online weekly fundraising lottery on Sunday – deadline 5pm – 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.

AWAY MATCH v CLACHNACUDDIN FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
GRANT ST PARK, INVERNESS, IV3 6DR
SATURDAY 23 AUGUST 2025 – KICK OFF 3pm

Still on our travels and for the second time this week we travel to Inverness, this time for a Breedon Highland League match against Clachnacuddin in what should be a real cracker of a game.
We were on cup duty in Inverness on Wednesday night against an exceptionally clinical Caley Thistle team being beaten 6-0. The League One team showed no mercy in an excellent first half performance but we managed to hold our own in the second half, in a far better performance which, hopefully, we will carry forward to Grant Street on Saturday.
Clach were on cup duty as well on Wednesday night travelling to cup holders Brora Rangers which resulted in a 0-0 draw after ninety minutes, but the visitors winning 8-7 on penalties, which was a great result for Clach.
There has always been a great rivalry over the years between ourselves and Clach, probably because the vast majority of both teams are Inverness residents, and tthere are one or two well known Clach faces to Jags’ fans although we understand that both Jack McKay, with a long term injury, and Jack Davison are out – we wish them all the best and a return to first team football as soon as possible.
Clach were one of the best teams in last season’s league finishing in a very creditable sixth place, a vast improvement on the previous season when they finished second bottom one place above ourselves and this season Strathspey Thistle would love to emulate that sort of trajectory – and although we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves  if we could finish the season in a mid-table position we would be more than delighted….but as it stands this season after six games we are one place behind Clach in fifth place, and one point behind ….so game on!
Who would have put money on that three years ago but as Greavsie used to say “It’s a funny old game, Saint!”

WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S CUP-TIE AT INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE

A full bus of supporters made their way to the Sarens PSG Stadium and were treated to a masterclass by the League One team in the first forty five minutes. Caley Thistle scored six goals to no reply.
The game started with our own Calum Brown’s effort being saved by ICT ‘keeper Logan Ross and that was pretty much it for the first half.
After half time Daniel Whitehorn joined first half substitute the nose-ringed Dylan Lawrence, who had replaced Aaron Doran late in the first half, Daniel replacing Calum Brown, and this was followed mid way through by Caelan Mutch and Ali Nixon replacing Josh Race and Shaun Morrison respectively. 
The second half performance was a lot tighter and the match was a far more competitive affair with no more goals and I would imagine overall the boys enjoyed their time sampling the lush grass, pitch size and the surroundings of what was, only a few years ago, a Scottish Premier League club – and with high intentions of returning there – and ten years ago ICT were winners of the Scottish Cup, with our own Aaron Doran and Ryan Esson part of the team.

So, as we bow out of the North of Scotland Cup, we look forward to the R Davidson Highland League Cup on Sep 14 with an away tie to Brora Rangers, and the first round draw also next month of the Scottish Cup, but before that concentration turns to the Breedon Highland League and Saturday’s game against Clach.

THANK YOU KEIRAN …..

We can confirm that both Keiran Duffty and Lewis Mackie have left the Jags – Keiran on a permanent deal with Nairn St Ninian and Lewis on a loan deal until the end of the year with the North Caledonian League’s newcomers, the re-born Inverness Thistle. We wish Keiran all the best – according to reports he had scored a hat-trick within his first twenty-one minutes on his debut last Saturday, and we’ll see Lewis back in January.

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PLAYER SPONSORS

For more information on player sponsorship and match day hospitality
contact hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

HOSPITALITY

For more information on player sponsorship and match day hospitality
contact hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

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LOTTERY NOW £12,500

It’s a ginormous amount –  £12,500 for you to win by playing our online fundraising lottery – 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.

Next week it’s back to Seafield Park for another tough encounter on Saturday afternoon with a Breedon Highland League match against Formartine United.

AWAY MATCH v INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC
NORTH OF SCOTLAND CUP, SECOND ROUND
SARENS PSG STADIUM, INVERNESS
WEDNESDAY 20 AUGUST 2025 – KICK OFF 7.30PM

On the road again and this time we make our way to Sarens PSG Stadium, Inverness – formerly known as the Caledonian Stadium – and a second round tie in the North of Scotland Cup versus Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Buoyed by the results from our last couple of league matches this will hopefully be a real cracker and one that Ryan and the rest of the team are very much looking forward to. A full bus of Jags’ supporters will be leaving The Square on Wednesday evening heading towards the Highland capital.

HOME MATCH v DEVERONVALE – SATURDAY 16 AUGUST

Another three points for the Jags which takes our total to twelve points from six games and into fifth place in the Breedon Highland League. It makes very good reading in relation to how our league exploits over the past years have gone and hopefully we can continue on this path.

On an exceptionally hot day  – there was a drinks break in either half, not something that happens too often at Seafield Park – we had to cope in the early part of the game with a concerted effort by Deveronvale but again the defence and Danny Gillan in goals held out and, as the game progressed, we came more and more into it and just before half time Shaun Morrison’s well construed lob gave us the lead. It was Shaun’s sixth goal of the campaign.
After half time, again after some pressing by the ‘Vale, we scored again. On sixty-six minutes, after some strong play by Calum Brown on the left he crossed the ball and from a fortunate rebound off Shaun Morrison, Calum found the net with a good strike.

Last years’ top scorer for The Jags Daniel Whitehorn replaced Morrison after seventy-one minutes and two minutes later had scored, putting the Jags three up. This was then followed a few minutes later by fellow sub Josh Race superbly meeting an Aaron Doran cross but unfortunately his effort struck the post.

All in all, as gaffer Ryan Esson said after the game, that although he thought the Jags didn’t play to their maximum potential they took their chances – and that was the main difference between the teams.
Now we have a cup game to look forward to against Caley Thistle on Wednesday before another trip to Inverness to play Clachnacuddin next Saturday which should be a topper!
Dylan Lawrence was meant to come on as a substitute but the linesman wouldn’t let him as Dylan has a nose-piercing, which was covered by tape – Dylan has had his nose-pierced for years and in all the games he has played in since, this has never been an issue…….

If you want to see all the goals from Saturday head to our FaceBook page : https://www.facebook.com/strathspeythistlefc

HALF TIME RAFFLE WINNER

A superfan from Glasgow, Scott Robertson, won the cash this week as his ticket was the one drawn. Scott, regularly visits Aviemore and if there is a home game on when he is here he looks forward to visiting Seafield Park for the game. He said that he and some mates had hospitality here a couple of years ago and he enjoyed his day so much that he became a Strathspey Thistle supporter from afar – and is enjoying very much the way we have started the season.

HOME MATCH v DEVERONVALE FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
SEAFIELD PARK, GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY, PH26 3HE
SATURDAY 16 AUGUST 2025 KO 3pm

On Saturday we welcome players, management and supporters of Deveronvale FC who make their way to Grantown via the A95 from Banff, and arrive here on the back of a 3-2 home win against Keith on Wednesday night.
The ‘Vale have started the season with a mixed bag of results with 3 wins, a loss and a draw and they currently sit on 10 points and sitting in eighth position in the league – one point ahead of the Jags as we have nine points from our first five games.
Visits to Seafield Park over the years has not always produced a win for the Vale, but with the Jags’ form continuing on an upward trajectory, especially after Wednesday night’s result in Buckie, it could be a match that the Jags’ can, hopefully, add to their points tally.
In light of Wednesday night’s happenings there could be a good crowd on Saturday, and with the weather gods promising a sunny afternoon with a lot less wind than last week it should be a cracker!!
As far as I know Jags’gaffer Ryan Esson will have more or less a full squad to pick from again.
If any of the travelling support want a resumé of what’s available in Grantown click here.

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WEDNESDAY EVENING’S MATCH v BUCKIE THISTLE

Having had some conversations with Jags’ head coach Ryan Esson over the past few weeks he has stressed that this season we have a really good squad of players, and we should fear no team especially after our start of two wins and two losses – albeit the losses were against title contenders – but I really don’t think anyone would have predicted the score on Wednesday.
We arrived at Victoria Park to face a Buckie Thistle team, another team in contention for the league title in many folks eyes, and who had not lost their last sixteen matches and had started this season with a 100% record – four wins out of four.
To say our boys did well would be a vast, vast understatement and as from what I have read online and in print and seen footage this was not a lucky win……
The game was pretty even early on with ourselves earning three corners and Buckie hitting the bar from a header but, on thirty seven minutes, we took the lead when Shaun Morrison converted a pass from Aaron Doran to open the scoring which was followed by an excellent goal by Calum Brown making it two -nil just before the break.
The second half had hardly started when Shaun got his second goal of the evening followed twelve minutes later by Calum getting his second – four-nil to the Strathy Jags and by now I was getting messages on my phone from friends questioning the verity of the happenings in Buckie! 

Buckie scored in the seventy-second minute  – and that completed the scoring – and the full time the score of Buckie Thistle 1 – Strathspey Thistle 4 reverberated around the North.

It was probably our best ever result in our sixteen years as members of the Scottish Highland League, historic even!
On leaving the pitch all the Strathspey players were congratulated by our small band of travelling support…..now, we look forward to perhaps three points in Grantown on Saturday – and keeping the momentum going!

You can see the goals by going to our Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/strathspeythistlefc

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JAGS MAGS AT GRANTOWN SHOW

In what looks like an annual appearance intrepid committee member Mags Clark set up her stall raising the awareness of Strathspey Thistle at the Farmers Show, the largest event of the year in Grantown – and with the Buckie result still ringing throughout the North it could not have been a better day to do so – especially with the glorious weather and a large, possibly even record, crowd attending.
Although concentrating on our fund-raising weekly Lottery ( this week’s jackpot stands at £12,400 ) Mags and her friend Susan also had club memorabilia for sale too.
BIG THANKS TO YOU BOTH!!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
August dates are as follows 
Weds 20 Away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle

There will be a supporters bus ( cost £15) leaving from the Square in Grantown at 18.15 – not many seats left – contact Commercial Director Laura for more information –

hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

Sat 23 Away to Clachnacuddin FC KO 3pm
Sat 30 Home to Formartine United FC KO 3pm

MATCH DAY HOSPITALITY

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

For more information on hospitality or sponsorship contact our Commercial Director Laura on
hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

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LOTTERY NOW £12,400

It’s a ginormous amount –  £12,400 for you to win by playing our online fundraising lottery – 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.
   All winners will be notified.

AWAY MATCH v BUCKIE THISTLE FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
VICTORIA PARK BUCKIE AB56 1BJ
WEDNESDAY 13 AUGUST 2025 – KICK OFF 8PM

After enduring the high winds at home on Saturday afternoon we are back on the bus and heading to Buckie’s Victoria Park – home of the 23/24 Highland League champions and our match against Buckie Thistle.
Keen readers will know that two local lads don the Buckie jersey, top scorer Josh Peters and ace defender Sam Morrison, who spent half of last year on loan with The Strathy Jags, part of his recuperation from injury.
Buckie have maximum points from their four games played this season so it’s going to be a tough evening but one that we are more matched to, than perhaps, in previous years according to many observers.

As I have not heard to the contrary gaffer Ryan Esson has more or less a full squad to pick from, but I would imagine there will probably be some rotation as we have mid-week games in front of us until round about  mid-September.

LAST SATURDAY’S MATCH v BANKS O’DEE

Unfortunately the only real winner on Saturday was the weather – although the clouds were punctured intermittently with sun, the swirling wind made it difficult for both teams and it was difficult to see if any had an advantage in either half. Although Banks o’Dee were possibly the better team overall it was not, in the eyes of the Jags’ supporters at least, a 3-0 game.

Danny Gillan in the Jags’ goal was the busier of the two keepers in the early stages of the first half pulling off a couple of excellent saves, but the Jags were denied what looked like a stonewall penalty when Shaun Morrison was felled by the Dee’s keeper Daniel Hoban so it remained all square at the interval.

After the break Dee’s Joe McCabe had a goal disallowed which was shortly followed by a superb Jags’ move which was denied by Hoban from a close range Daniel Whitehorn shot.
Banks o’Dee took the lead on seventy-nine minutes to break the deadlock, followed ten minutes later when Gilmour finished off a slick move to make it two-nil, and almost immediately after the ref awarded Banks o’Dee a soft penalty, especially in the eyes of the Jags’ fans resulting in aa away victory by three goals to nil.

We move on to Buckie.

HALF-TIME RAFFLE

The winner of Saturday’s Half-Time Raffle was Jags’ fan Colin Falconer from Cromdale.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
August dates are as follows 
Sat 16 Home to Deveronvale FC KO 3pm
Weds 20 Away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle (see below)
Sat 23 Away to Clachnacuddin FC KO 3pm
Sat 30 Home to Formartine United FC KO 3pm

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MATCH DAY HOSPITALITY

For both hospitality and player sponsorship please contact our Commercial Director Laura at :
hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

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WE’RE GONNA HAVE TO PLAY IT COOL…..

A thousand thanks go to our local Fire Brigade who used part of their normal Monday practice evening in helping us out with some pitch watering after a load of fertiliser had been spread in our attempts to keep Seafield Park as playable as possible, especially after the recent spell of dry weather.

HOME MATCH v BANKS O’DEE FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
SEAFIELD PARK, GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY, PH26 3HE
SATURDAY 9 AUGUST 2025 KO 3pm

This Saturday we welcome all the way from the Granite City, players, management and supporters of Banks o’Dee FC. The Dee who finished third in the league last season, have started with two draws and a loss so arrive at Seafield Park, I imagine, wanting to get their first three points of the season, but conversely the Jags want to continue their good start and add more points to the six we already have so it looks as though there’s a cracking game in prospect. If any of the Banks o’Dee travelling support wants a resumé of what is available in Grantown…click here

Head coach Ryan Esson looks as though, he will have more or less a full squad to pick from with Jamie Calder, Daniel Whitehorn, Jordan Laidlaw, James Fraser and Josh Race all returning after missing last week’s encounter at Brechin. Filip Franczak is on the mend after sustaining an ankle injury against Forres Thistle in a pre-season friendly and could also be available but missing is still Ali Morrison.

MATCH v BRECHIN CITY AT GLEBE PARK – SATURDAY 2 AUGUST

We lost, in which will be our last Highland League visit to Glebe Park, and the record books will say it was a 3-0 win for Brechin. However, the Jags’ gaffer Ryan Esson was very pleased with the performance. A sloppy goal, a dubious penalty and Cillian Sheridan goal just before half-time did not tell the whole story of the match as we very much matched Brechin, especially in the second half and an Aaron Doran free kick hitting the bar and a Shaun Morrison effort blocked by the Brechin keeper could have greatly changed the outcome making the last quarter a far different game.

In previous seasons our visits to Glebe Park have not had results we would write home about, with this visit Ryan reckons that the boys have learned that they can compete with the best as Brechin are one of the bookies favourites to win the league – something which bodes well for the Jags’ season ahead.

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DATE FOR YOUR DIARY – WEDNESDAY 20 AUGUST
In the preliminary round of the North of Scotland Cup on Wednesday night, Inverness Caledonian Thistle defeated Lossiemouth by six goals to nil, and by so doing earn a First Round tie against the Strathy Jags.
The game is scheduled for Wednesday 20 August at the Caledonian Stadium but the venue might change – keep a look out on our social media pages for up-to-date information about this.

SPONSORSHIP

Thanks must go to all at MKM, Aviemore for being one of our major sponsors again this season – as we always say we are indebted to all our sponsors without whom there would be no Strathspey Thistle Football Club.
THANK YOU.

HOME MATCH HOSPITALITY

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

For both hospitality and player sponsorship please contact our Commercial Director Laura at :

hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk

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LOTTERY NOW £12,300……

As ever we close with details of our fundraising Club Lottery and the jackpot is now a whopping great £12,300…….

 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.

Tuesday 1^st: Ross County sent a strong side to Seafield Park for a pre-season friendly against the Jags and showed their quality with a 5-0 victory. Northern Ireland international striker, and reported £1m transfer target, Ronan Hale scored three goals in the second-half in what was a great workout for STFC prior to the new Highland League season. 

County take the lead at Seafield Park
Writing in the Press & Journal, Paul Chalk commented that: ‘there were several occasions when they asked questions of their higher ranked team and the Jags will be happy with their effort overall, given the opposition’s class.’

Friday 4^th: We were drawn away to either Inverness Caledonian Thistle or Lossiemouth in the North of Scotland Cup.

Saturday 5^th: Jags player/coach Aaron Doran enjoyed his testimonial match at Caley Thistle, where he made nearly 400 appearances, with the home side taking on Ross County in front of 2,000 fans, including a few STFC committee members. That man Hale was impressive again with both goals in a 2-0 victory for the Dingwall side.

Tuesday 8^th: A pre-season friendly at home to Dufftown FC and a 1-0 victory for the Jags although a late second goal was disallowed as a hole in the net fooled the referee into thinking the ball had gone wide of the upright!

Saturday 12^th: The weather was kind for our annual Golf Day and our thanks go to everyone involved in making it a great occasion. Full details on our website here.

Fellow Highland League sides Brora Rangers and Brechin City were involved against top-flight clubs in the Premier Sports Cup, Brora doing well to restrict Kilmarnock to a two-goal victory while Falkirk scored seven away to Brechin.

Wednesday 16^th: Manager Ryan Esson was pleased to get the signing of Danny Gillan from Brora Rangers over the line, describing the 20-year-old goalkeeper as ‘a top professional and a great character, he’ll bring experience and consistency to our squad.’ 

Deals were also announced to bring in 18-year-old defenders Ali Morrison and Bailey Black. 

Saturday 19^th: In our final warm-up ahead of the new season, Forres Thistle were the visitors to Seafield Park and a 5-0 victory for the Jags set us up nicely for the big kick-off. Goals came from Shaun Morrison x 3, Lewis Mackie and Kieran Duffty.

Thursday 24^th: Ross County youngsters Jamie Williamson, a midfielder and forward Calum Brown joined on season-long loans to continue the squad strengthening.

Campbell Money, County’s Football Development Director commented: ‘Strathspey Thistle are a progressive Highland League Club, and we feel this agreement aligns with our football development strategy.’

Saturday 26^th: Time for the big kick-off of the 2025/26 Highland League season as we entertained Keith at Seafield Park and what a day it was for home supporters as the Jags signalled their intent to improve dramatically on last season’s position.
Two Shaun Morrison goals either side of half-time gave the hosts the advantage and any nerves that came about when the visitors halved the deficit with eight minutes remaining were more than eased by a fantastic goal from Josh Race that secured all three points.
Elsewhere in the league there were opening day wins for Clachnacuddin, Brora Rangers, Brechin City, Deveronvale and Buckie Thistle.

Wednesday 30^th: A midweek trip to Rothes for the Jags in a meeting of last season’s bottom two. 

The newsletter was compiled prior to this game due to holidays so we’re going to leave you on a cliffhanger for this one.

Please check our Facebook page for the details on whether we could make it two wins out of two and also the latest on the Jags lottery and whether the big jackpot prize of £12,000 has been won!

Player Sponsorship

Matchday Hospitality

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

Email hospitality@strathspeythistlefc.uk to express your interest.

Upcoming home matches in August include the games against Banks O’Dee on Saturday 9^th, Deveronvale on Saturday 16^th and Formartine United on Saturday 30^th.

Firstly let me apologise for the non-appearance of a post on Tuesday, especially after the momentous result of the Keith game, but I have had three days of trauma thanks to a kaput power lead to my router – hopefully all is well that ends well and there will be no more problems for a long time with internet connections!!

On Saturday we’re on the road again and this time we make the trip to Brechin for what will be our last visit to Glebe Park as Brechin City- The Hedgemen – have intimated that next year they will be playing in the Lowland League – that is if they don’t win the Highland League and re-enter Division 2 of the Scottish League through the pyramid play-offs. So, unless we draw Brechin in a cup game this will be the last time in Brechin.
The Jags will be looking forward to this visit, especially after our opening games of the season, and, will hopefully be able to give a better account of ourselves in comparison to our previous visits. 
For ticketing information go here https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=12795

What a start to the season – our first win on the opening day of a Highland League season and following it up with another – six points from two games and we hadn’t reached August!
Let’s hope we can keep up the momentum – but, there is a tough few weeks ahead with some very difficult games and hopefully, if we can work hard and compete all Jags fans will be delighted.

MATCH v KEITH FC – SEAFIELD PARK, JULY 26 2025.

On a very pleasant afternoon for football, the Highland League for season 2025/2026 began. 
Jags’ fans were very eager to see how the new signings blended with retained players from last season would gel and there was a quiet confidence about the way the make up of the team seemed to be going – a good pre-season had gaffer Ryan Esson very confidant about how the season should go and this was the message on Facebook on Saturday morning.

Keith were the better team for the first twenty minutes or so and Jags’ League debutant keeper Danny Gillan made a couple of smart saves early doors. However, we started gaining control and after thirty four minutes we got the break of the ball and Shaun Morrison pounced making it one-nil to the Jags.

We kept up the pressure into the second half and were rewarded with another well taken goal by Shaun which made it two-nil. After eighty-two minutes Keith scored and Jags’ fans in the substantial crowd began fretting slightly but five minutes later Josh Race cutting in from the right and from the edge of the penalty box curled a fantastic shot into the top right corner of the goal giving Keith keeper Reid no chance, and in doing quelled the home fans nerves! 

What a start – for the first time in our Highland League history ( since July 2009 ) we had won our opening game and put three points on the board. Joy.
Everyone came through the match unscathed and it was great to see Aaron Doran doing the full ninety minutes, and the new boys all did very well – we just hope all the positivity that there was on Saturday continues for the season….we now headed to Rothes for a midweek clash at Mackessack park before making the long trip to league favourites Brechin on Saturday.

MATCH v ROTHES, WEDNESDAY 30 JULY 2025

It was with a wee bit of a swagger we arrived at Mackessack Park for our league encounter with Rothes FC – a swagger soon to be nullified by Rothes taking the lead after five minutes after their new loan signing from Elgin City Daniel Fraser scored.  It took the rest of the first half for us to draw level with a cracking long range effort by Liam Shewan in stoppage time before the break – see Liam’s equalising goal here
Two minutes into the second half Shaun Morrison scored his third goal in two games and put us one ahead and five minutes later Liam scored his second goal of the evening to put make the score 3 – 1 to the Jags. However, Rothes weren’t finished and Daniel Fraser scored his second goal, followed by Tom Brady who levelled the score. 

Jags’ captain James McShane finally finished the scoring with a bullet header with five minutes to go.
There was a very good attendance and the crowd were treated to a really exciting game of fitba’ – and we were really happy to leave Rothes with the three points to continue our record breaking run of achieving two wins out of two games at the start of a league season.

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NEW FACES

Ryan Esson with new loan signings Jamie Williamson and Calum Brown ahead of the Keith match.

Both players came off the bench in the second half as we secured a 3-1 home win to kick off the season in style! 
Great to have you on board, lads!

JAMES LEE FRASER

We’re delighted to confirm that James Lee Fraser has taken on the role of Player/Coach at Strathspey Thistle.

James made club history last season by scoring our fastest ever goal — just 38 seconds in! 
This is a natural next step in his journey with the club. While his focus will now be predominantly on coaching, he’ll still be registered as a player — and may be called upon when needed during the season.
 Manager Ryan Esson said: “James is a big figure in the dressing room and someone the younger lads really look up to. He leads by example and this new role is a natural progression for him — and a big plus for the club.”

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KEITH FC PRESENTATION

It was a great gesture last Saturday from Keith FC – as they were to be the first club being welcomed to our new Committee Room by presenting us with a bottle of Malt Whisky to commemorate the opening.
The photo shows Keith chairman Andy Troup presenting the bottle to Jags’ chairman Donly McLeod.
Thanks to Keith’s Eleanor Hutcheon for supplying the photograph.

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LOTTERY NOW £12,2000……As ever we close with details of our fundraising Club Lottery and the jackpot is now a whopping great £12,200…….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.