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Home match v Brechin City FC – Seafield Park, Grantown
Saturday 19 March – KO 3pm

This is quite a historical weekend as we welcome our friends from Brechin through the doors of Seafield Park for their first ever visit to Grantown and a Breedon Highland League match.
We visited Glebe Park last October and started the game extremely well but on the other side of half time, unfortunately for us, the experience of the home team took hold and we lost the match 7-3 – but not many teams recently have managed to score three goals at Brechin.
At the moment Brechin City sit in third place in the league, fourteen places above us, so we will be delighted to capture any points this weekend, but, if not it won’t be for the lack of trying.  This starts a sequence of games where we play four out of the top five teams in the league……..
At least the weather forecast looks as though we will be basking in sunshine – so if you can – please come along and enjoy the fitba’!

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Unfortunately we were unable to continue our winning way and add to the three points from last Saturday losing 4-2 to Clachnacuddin at Seafield Park on Wednesday night. The photo taken on the night shows both teams solidarity with the Ukraine.  

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New dates for your diary – maybe some have been amended from last week – please check : these are The Jags fixtures until the end of the season – at the moment this is the current list:

26/03 Rothes (A) – 30/03 Fraserburgh (H) – 2/04 Buckie Thistle (A) – 6/04 Forres Mechanics (H) – 9/04 Lossiemouth (A) – 13/04 Fort William “(H)” – 16/04 Inverurie Loco Works (H)

As we have said before due to the Highland weather and game postponements this time of year is usually very busy with, for example, three games over the past week all at home – The Club would really appreciate if you have two or three hours to spare of a morning to come and give us a helping hand repairing the pitch – all you need is a garden fork, a good pair of boots and an enjoyment of banter and the craic!   

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As ever, our online Club Lottery is ongoing and for the chance to win this weeks jackpot of £2600.00 play here. If you already have a ticket, either paper or online – thank you very much for supporting the Club.

Official Souvenir Programme

Our Club historian Rob A Clark has produced a programme commemorating the first ever visit to Seafield Park by Brechin City FC for a Breedon Highland League match on Saturday. 

The programme will be available to fans and collectors online – for purchasing details please go to stfcprogramme@gmail.com 

Spectators attending the match will be able to purchase their copy at the entrance gate ticket-area on the day. No doubt it will be an informative and enjoyable read – and a collectors item in the years to come!

Home Match v Clachnacuddin FC – Breedon Highland League
Seafield Park  Wednesday 16 March – KO 8pm

OK – so maybe it’s not a clash of the titans of the Highland League, but it should be a monumental encounter on Wednesday. So far this season we’ve played Clach three times – they won their home league game at Grant Park and a cup tie here and we won a cup tie at Grant Park – so it’s everything to play for. There has been much toing and froing between the players of both Clubs this season so it has the makings of a great night under the lights of Seafield Park .
Hopefully with the win against Turriff on Saturday the Jags will go into the game with a good deal of confidence, so perhaps the three points may stay in Grantown.

Speaking of the Turriff game, the boys played really well and got off to a great start with Craig Mackenzie netting within five minutes and Dylan Lawrence making it two just before the interval. Turriff replied with what can only be described as an unstoppable screamer to make it 2-1 but The Jags kept on piercing the Turriff defence and in the later stages of the second half could have had at least one more. Manager Charlie Brown was obviously delighted and the whole squad are now looking forward to the Clach game.  

Home Match v Turriff United FC – Saturday 12 March, Seafield Park KO 3pm.

This Saturday we start a week of three home games with first, the visit of our league “neighbours” Turriff United FC – who are one place higher in the league and four points ahead of us. 

This will be the first time since December 2019 that we welcome management, players and fans from Turriff to Seafield Park, and we hope that they will all enjoy a good but probably hard fought game of fitba – a real six-pointer as all the pundits would say – but from a personal perspective I’d be happy if they head back to The Haughs leaving the three points with The Jags…

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This week’s Highland Football Weekly podcast features the gaffer Charlie Brown click here to listen..

Our Club historian Rob A Clark has produced a programme commemorating the first ever visit to Seafield Park by Brechin City FC for a Breedon Highland League match a week on Saturday, the 19th of March. 

The programme will be available to fans and collectors online – for purchasing details please go to :
stfcprogramme@gmail.com

 Spectators attending the match will be able to purchase their copy at the entrance gate ticket-area on the day.
No doubt it will be an informative and enjoyable read – and a collectors item in the years to come!

Match v Nairn County FC, Station Park, Nairn 
Saturday 5 March KO 3pm

This Saturday it’s down the A939 to Nairn and a Breedon Highland League match against Nairn County FC at Station Park in Nairn (IV12 5NQ).
The last league encounter between us was last October when Nairn won all three points in a very closely contested encounter so hopefully this Saturday’s game will be of the same intensity but with the three points coming our way.  Nairn currently sit ninth in the league so it will not be easy. We wish the boys all the best.

After the League Cup games this week the Highland League was able to publish the next run of games, so, the dates for your diary after the visit this week to Nairn is a run of three home games :
Saturday 12 March v Turriff United 3pm (h)
Wednesday 16 March v Clachnacuddin 8pm (h)
Saturday 19 March v Brechin City 3pm (h)

We would love to see you at Seafield Park cheering on the Strathy Jags. 

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As ever the Club Lottery will be drawn on Sunday and the jackpot this week is £2400 – to play online click here.

February 2: Halfway through the week and both day-time and night-time temperatures are good. The pitch is in a good state so we are hopeful that Saturday’s game with Fraserburgh will go ahead.

February 4: Never count your chickens where the Grantown weather is concerned. Snow from early morning gave us a 10 cm covering and with a frost due tonight we have decided on a 10.00 pitch inspection.

February 5: Game day with no game as we have to postpone due to snow and ice and a poor forecast for the day ahead. Today was our first chance post-Covid restrictions to offer hospitality and  it was much appreciated that our guests decided to stay and watch the Rugby between Scotland and England instead.

February 11: Midfielder Stephen Rennie has joined Inverness Athletic of the North Caledonian League until April 30.

February 12: A last a long bus trip, from Inverness via Forres to Formartine United who play at North Lodge Park, Pitmedden in Aberdeenshire, a relatively new ground situated in open farming country. A warm welcome awaited us with some sunshine and decent playing conditions. A goal down in seven minutes wasn’t the start we hoped for although but for a superb save from United keeper Ewen Macdonald the Jags would have gone in a square at half time. Formartine continued to press and went two up on 60 minutes. The loss of Andrew Skinner to a second bookable offence just made our day as we then conceded two late goals to go down 4-0. Another long journey home.

February 13: Attention now focused on the game at Seafield Park on Saturday when we play Fort William. This is their home game but because of problems with the pitch at Claggan Park it has been switched to Seafield Park. Fort William will play all their home games on the road this season. 
For both clubs it is the game of the season especially as this season relegation/promotion has been introduced to and from the Breedon Highland League.

February 15: There is a lot of interest in the game with the BBC asking permission to attend and film as they are making a documentary about the Fort William club which is a follow up to one they did a few years back. 

February 16: 20 year old midfielder Ross Logan has joined us from Clachnacuddin on a  temporary transfer until 30 April. 

February 17: The transfer was completed of midfielder Kieran Chalmers to Clachnacuddin. He started 15 games and made one substitute appearance and chipped in with four goals. We wish him well at his new club.

February 18: Up to today another good week weather wise with the pitch in good condition but the snow started in the early hours and has persisted all today to a depth of 10/12 centimetres. Pitch inspected at 1700 and with the updated weather forecast being frost overnight it was decided to call the game off. Fixture congestion is now becoming a problem. The next set of re-arranged fixtures should be published in the next few days. 

February 21: Only two Breedon SHFL games survived the visits of Dudley and Eunice but those games involved two sides chasing the league title, Fraserburgh and Brora. The Broch defeated Lossiemouth to go three points clear of Buckie Thistle while Brora were held 2-2 in their local derby with Wick Academy. The Rangers equalised in the the fifth minute of injury time depriving the Scorries of their first derby victory for many years.

February 25: The Jags said farewell to Cameron Lisle who has moved to Nairn County. This season he has made 21 appearances with three as substitute. First part of the week weather wise was okay but Wednesday and Thursday gave us some heavy snow. A thaw has now set in so keeping fingers crossed with Saturday’s forecast much brighter.

February 26: Game day and the current Highland League Champions are at Seafield Park. The pitch is in good condition but there is a very strong wind forecast. The Jags were a goal down in two minutes which was wind assisted and the same on twenty minutes. Half time it was two nil to Brora and although the team worked hard it was a struggle against a very good team and they went down 5-1. Jake Thomson scored the Jags goal on 85 minutes from the penalty spot. Attention is now drawn to the visit of Huntly on Wednesday night in a rearranged fixture. The club also enjoyed a visit from John Campbell, the new Highland League Secretary designate who takes over from Rod Houston in the Summer.

      

Home League Match v Huntly FC
Seafield Park, Grantown – Wednesday 2 March 2022 – KO 8pm

We look forward to our re-arranged Breedon Highland League match against Huntly FC, postponed from November, and the first of our March fixtures under the lights at Seafield Park.  After a windswept afternoon on Saturday let’s hope that we get some decent weather and an entertaining game and hopefully three points.

Speaking of the weather this weeks photographs show Seafield Park on Friday afternoon and then on Saturday afternoon during the Brora game – the joys of Highland League football weather!!!

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For your diary – We’re off to Station Park in Nairn on Saturday 5 March.

AND…..if anyone has a spare couple of hours or so, we’ll be pitch fixing tomorrow (Tuesday) preparing for Wednesday – all you need is a garden fork and a guid pair o’ boots!!  We start about 9 but non-punctuality is not punished!!

Home match v Brora Rangers FC – Saturday 26 February 2022
Seafield Park, Grantown – KO 3pm

This week we look forward to the visit of Brora Rangers FC.
Brora sit in third place in the Breedon Highland League and we envisage a very tough game …..Brora in Old Norse means “river with a bridge” so the our heading this week seems apt with the struggle it will be to gain some points and on a far more serious note what is currently happening in the world….

We are delighted to announce the loan signing of Ross Logan until the end of the season.
We would like to thank Clachnacuddin FC for allowing this to happen.
Ross had this to say on joining Strathspey Thistle.
 “I’m looking forward to playing with Strathspey Thistle – its a good bunch of boys and can’t wait to get started. I’m desperate to be playing again!”

Gaffer Charlie had this to say on Ross’s arrival.
“I’m delighted to welcome Ross into our squad for the remainder of the season. Ross has already lit up the League with some outstanding displays and I’m sure he will continue to do so in the colours of Strathspey Thistle. 
He comes with bags of pace and ability. His direct approach to the game will no doubt create chances for others but also for himself too as his natural ability to strike the ball comfortably with both feet is something most defenders fear most in a striker. We look forward to seeing him in action very soon! 

Leaving us is Keiran Chalmers and we wish him all the best for his future. 

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This week the jackpot in the Club Lottery is £2300.00 – please help the Club by playing here. Thank you.

MATCH v FORT WILLIAM FC, SEAFIELD PARK, GRANTOWN
SATURDAY 19 FEBRUARY KO 3PM

Contrary to the report in the Strathy we are not travelling to Fort William for this week’s Breedon Highland League match ( see here for reason) but we welcome them again to Seafield Park. After our previous encounter this season on a very wet and cold October night a thrilling 7-3 victory for The Jags ensued, but with some major changes for Fort William over the past few weeks, it promises to be a very exciting and hard fought game and given our respective league positions ….a real six-pointer.

However, as I write this it has been snowing all day in Grantown and with the forecast of temperatures below freezing it looks very unlikely the game will be able to go ahead.
So that will be another game to add to our backlog which will have to be played over the next couple of months. It is going to be very difficult for Charlie and the squad – I reckon most weeks we will probably be playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday.

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The Jackpot of the Club Lottery this week stands at £2200.00 – so if you want to play online – play here – Good Luck and Thank You.