Strathspey Thistle FC

HOME MATCH v FRASERBURGH FC
GPH BUILDER’S MERCHANTS HIGHLAND LEAGUE CUP – ROUND 2
SEAFIELD PARK, GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY, PH26 3HY
SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2023 – KO 3pm

After our heroics at Lossiemouth a couple of weeks ago our reward is a home tie against Fraserburgh FC.
There wasn’t much for the Jags to write home about after Fraserburgh’s visit last season, so the less said about that the better – but a far better performance in Fraserburgh nearer the end of the season helped heal the wounds – slightly.
Hoping to carry on our cup form as we obviously expect an exceptionally tough match and it will continue next week when we are away to Brechin City, last year’s league champions – but you never know in football….

For any Broch supporters attending Seafield Park for the first time, or you want some information about the town, click here….and we hope you enjoy your visit…but not too much….

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TWO MATCHES 

Last week was a busy one for the Rob and the boys with a mid-week game in Forres with the next one just along the road in Nairn on the Saturday.
I congratulate all the players who were on the pitch during some horrendous downpours  on Wednesday – it was tough! 

The Jags, as usual, had a good first half and although going into the break one down, we had our chances and could have been leading. However two minutes into the second half the Can-Cans scored again….an annoying trait recently – especially after mistakes …..  and then we succumbed to another two later on in the game !! ….Everyone seemed to agree this was not a four-niller…but goals are the currency and we didn’t score.

So it was off to the drying room and to prepare for our visit to Nairn.

The weather couldn’t have been better – warm with a gentle breeze and The Jags were very much the better team in the first half not converting at least two good chances and arrived at half time with the score being 0-0.
Then…our annoying trait – two minutes into the second half we were one down, again! We then lost another goal in the seventy-third minute and the heads seemed to go down with County scoring two more goals in eighty and eighty-nine minutes – we managed a consolation goal, a nicely controlled shot from the edge of the penalty area by Mike McKenzie in the ninety-first minute – but everyone was very, very disappointed at how the second half had gone….

In both games we have competed very well, but, by not being able to take our chances in front of goal it has cost us dear.

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CUP DRAW

Sunday evening saw the draw for the first round of the Scottish Cup sponsored this year by Scottish Gas and we were the fifth match drawn by Scotland ‘keeper Craig Gordon – we were drawn away from home and our opponents are from the Lowland League – Gala Fairydean Rovers from Galashiels in the Scottish Borders – so we have a fair trek on Saturday 23 September.

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CLIVE’S FAMILY

It was first time for a long time for the Wolstenholme boys to be all at the same match at the same time – pictured in Forres are LtoR – Nick who arrived from Barcelona, Clive who stays in Aviemore and Alex currently residing in Sheffield – all are loyal Jags fans – in fact Clive is Club Secretary, Alex does the Jags Twitter feed and Nick is in charge of our Instagram output……thanks to y’all…….

SEAFIELD PARK HAPPENINGS

Continuing from the last post there was movement with the MKM dugouts  –  and as the photograph shows the Home one has just been completed and looks braw….however, at the moment there is still a perspex panel(s) issue with the Away one…but it will be completed ASAP.

LOTTERY

As ever we conclude this weeks meanderings offering you a jackpot win of £2300 on our online fundraising lottery – click here if you want to play….

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK JAGS FANS

5^th First bus ride of the new season with a visit to Harlaw Park, Pitmedden to take on Formartine United. A lovely ground with an excellent pitch. Formartine joined the Highland League the same time as we did in 2009. It is always a tough ground to get a result on and this was no different. First 33 minutes saw us keep a good shape but then conceded a sloppy goal but went in one down at half-time pleased with how the team were playing. The second forty-five was a repeat of last week’s game at Forres which was disappointing. Further goals on 58, 63 and 90 minutes made it a long journey home. Shots on goal 3, shots off 5 and 2 corners. Bookings for James McShane and Owen Paterson.
Our first home game scheduled for August 12 has been postponed as Huntly have to play a preliminary round game in the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup.

16^thAfter an eleven day break it was another away game at Dudgeon Park, Brora. A beautiful summer evening greeted our arrival for what was Brora’s first home game after they had had their pitch re-laid. It was a really positive performance by The Jags and they created a number of decent chances. A sloppy opening goal on 30 minutes for the home side was followed nine minutes later by a second for the Rangers.
We took the game to the home side and it was no surprise when Owen Loveland made it 2-1 on 71 minutes which really opened up the game with The Strathy Jags having ten minutes of pressure which so nearly became 2-2. Brora scored again on 82 minutes but that was not a fair reflection of the game. So many positives to take for the journey home on what was an excellent team performance. If only we can cut out the defensive errors. 

Team: Steven Martin (GK); Owen Patterson, Taylor Sutherland, James McShane (c), William Urquhart, Alan Kerr, Joe Cuthbert, Jack Mackay, Jack Davison, Ross Logan, Michael McKenzie –  Subs used: Iain Ross, Cairn Giles, Owen Loveland.

19^thThe positive vibes at the club soon changed when four of the first team developed flu symptoms during Friday and Saturday morning and the club could only field 13 players for the league visit of Banks O’ Dee to Seafield Park.
Missing were Michael Mackenzie, Jack Davison, Taylor Sutherland and Seamus McGonaghy. 

(A recent aerial view of Seafield Park)

Two of the starting eleven were not feeling a hundred percent when ‘The Strathy Jags’ took to the pitch and it didn’t help matters to concede a very poor goal in under a minute and a second on ten minutes. Half time was reached four down but there was an improvement in the second half with the final score 6-0. 

Team: Steven Martin (GK); Owen Patterson, Jack Gilliland, William Urquhart, Alan Kerr, Joe Cuthbert, Jack Mackay, Ian Ross, Ross Logan, Owen Loveland – Subs used; Liam Grant, Caelen Mutch.

Details above of a fundraising social event coming up soon

26^thCup football today and a visit to Lossiemouth for the Highland League Cup. 
A sunny and warm afternoon greeted both teams and in a close game ‘The Strathy Jags’ recorded their first win of the season through a penalty converted by Owen Paterson in the 87^th minute. This was the best 90 minute performance from the team so far this season and let us hope that this a sign of progress for the games ahead.  

Team: Steve Martin (GK); Owen Patterson, Caelen Mutch, James McShane, Alan Kerr, Joe Cuthbert, Jack Mackay, Jack Davison, Ross Logan, Iain Ross, Michael MacKenzie – Subs used; Seamus McGonaghy, Owen Loveland, William Urquhart.

30^th More knockout football and, in difficult conditions, the Jags were beaten 4-0 by Forres Mechanics in the North of Scotland Cup at Mosset Park, Forres.
A tight first-half saw the home side take the lead shortly before half-time and a second goal soon after the break put them in command although two further strikes put an unfair gloss on the final scoreline.

Team: Ruaridhri Nicol (GK); Owen Patterson, Liam Grant, Allan Kerr, Owen Loveland, James McShane (c), Jack Davison, Jack McKay, Seamus McConachy, Joe Cuthbert, Michael McKenzie – Subs used; Caelan Mutch, Iain Ross, Ross Logan, Daniel Whitehorn

September Home Games

Saturday 9^th : Fraserburgh (Highland League Cup)
Saturday 30^th : Wick Academy

AWAY MATCH v FORRES MECHANICS FC
NORTH OF SCOTLAND CUP
MOSSET PARK, FORRES IV36 1AU
WEDNESDAY 30 AUGUST 2023 – KO 8pm

AWAY MATCH v NAIRN COUNTY FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
STATION PARK, NAIRN, IV12 5NQ
SATURDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2023 – KO 3pm

Another two away matches sports fans – one cup and one league.

Firstly we travel to Forres for a floodlight encounter with Forres Mechanics. This is our second visit to Mosset Park, in a month as we started our league campaign there on the 29th July, and for Jags fans it was memorable as we scored probably our quickest ever goal within 3 minutes! Forres equalised soon after and scored a deserved winner in the second half after a fair bit of pressure – but we were happy with the first half performance. Since then Forres have lost to only Buckie Thistle in the league and had an impressive win over Banks O’Dee in the GPBuilders Merchants Cup last Saturday.
So we will obviously be expecting a very tough match and if we can play like we did in the first half last time it should be a pretty close game.

And then on to Saturday and our second visit to the seaside in a week. We cross the Dava Moor to the the stylish town of Nairn and a Breedon Highland League match against Nairn County FC at Station Park.
Nairn have had a choppy start to the season and at the moment sit beside us in the league table failing to put any points on the board after four games. so there will be all to play for as both teams try to get our first points of the season. Last week they bowed out of the GPBuilders Merchants Cup last Saturday with a 3-2 loss away to Keith. So manager Steven Mackay will be hoping for better things.

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MATCH LAST SATURDAY v LOSSIEMOUTH FC 
GPBuilders Merchants Cup first round.

On a very pleasant afternoon weather wise Lossie started the game very sprightly and had Jags keeper Steve Martin busy early on, and for the first half hour were the better team. However, the Jags had a couple of good chances before half-time and went in at half-time looking more and more stronger. This continued for most of the second half missing some good chances but, eventually, late on ex-Jags keeper Ollie Kelly felled Owen Loveland in the box and Owen Paterson converted the resulting penalty kick. A couple of good clearances kept Lossie out when the final whistle sounded the Jags were the team in the next round where they will have a home tie against Fraserburgh on 9 September.

Everyone at Strathspey Thistle was absolutely delighted with the result and we hope that this bodes well for this weeks games.

CHANGE OF FIXTURE
OUR NEXT HOME GAME IS ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2023 – THE DATE IS THE SAME BUT OUR OPPOSITION HAS CHANGED. AFTER BEATING LOSSIEMOUTH IN THE GP BUILDERS MERCHANTS CUP LAST SATURDAY, WE NOW PLAY FRASERBURGH FC IN THE SECOND ROUND INSTEAD OF A LEAGUE GAME AGAINST ROTHES FC

TEAM NEWS

It was all action at Seafield Park on Monday night during training and manager Rob, Mike and the rest of the guys welcomed back Jude Fraser after breaking his ankle during our pre-season friendly against Nairn St Ninians – however all was not good and after an awkward turn his ankle injury flared up again – hopefully he’ll be back soon and the injury is not as bad as he feared – he is “desperate to get back – I’ve never been away from football for so long “.

We also wish defender Will Urquhart all the best as he heads to university in St Andrews – he is hopeful he may get back sporadically over the season and perhaps for a few weeks over the Christmas and Easter holiday periods.

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PITCHSIDE ACTIVITY 

Our photographer went a-roving down to Seafield Park capturing some sponsor driven activity.

Murray the blacksmith was grappling with perspex in fixing the away dugout in preparation for MKM branding and in the other corner Frankie and John were constructing the Gleaner Oils board for behind the goals at the golf course end.

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FUNDRAISING DANCE 

The word on the street is if you want to boogie on down to the K and The Pupils dance in The Legion on 30 September get your tickets SOON as we cannot be held responsible if you are too late…….tickets available at The Legion here in Grantown at £10 each – cash only please….

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LOTTERY
As always we close with giving you a chance of winning the Club’s weekly lottery jackpot – this week £2200 – click here to play

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I’LL BE BACK NEXT WEEK HENCE THE DOUBLE MATCH POST

…….SEE YOU THEN JAGS FANS

AWAY MATCH  v LOSSIEMOUTH FC
GPH BUILDERS MERCHANTS HIGHLAND LEAGUE CUP – RD1
GRANT PARK, LOSSIEMOUTH, IV31 6JG
SATURDAY 26 AUGUST 2023 KO – 3pm

This week we head to the Moray Coast and to Lossiemouth FC for a first round match in the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup. Both teams will be expecting a good result for them so the prospect of a good, hard fought encounter looks to be on the cards. Manager Rob will be hoping for a bit better luck this Saturday and the flu bug which has been affecting some of our boys has cleared up and everyone is fighting fit!
The Coasters sit one point ahead of us in the league so it should be pretty tight and I know that all of the Jags are looking forward to the game.

This post is being put together on Tuesday so check our social media for up-to-date information on the game.

MEET OUR NEW SPONSOR

Strathspey Thistle Football Club are delighted to welcome PREMIER – GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY as our new shirt sponsor joining McGowan’s and MKM. 

Premier owner Arun Palanippan opened in Grantown, his eighth shop, in April and with another in Nethy Bridge opening soon, it is great to have another successful business in the Strath becoming involved with the Club. Arun was introduced to the Club by Charlie Sinclair, who has recently retired and is now helping the Club’s commercial manager Rob Clark in finding sponsors.

LAST SATURDAY’S MATCH  v BANKS O’ DEE FC at Seafield Park.
SPONSORED BY FIFE CREAMERY

Firstly, Strathspey Thistle would like to thank Fife Creamery for sponsoring the match.

Unfortunately it wasn’t the greatest of results to our first home start in the Breedon Highland League 2023/2024. 
After our very good performance last Wednesday against Brora, Saturday’s result was badly affected by the fact that Manager Rob had 4 call offs that morning with players with a flu bug, so all this plans sort of went out the window – and with another couple of guys unavailable. We had only two outfield players on the bench so we were struggling and being two down after ten minutes didn’t help!  Banks O’Dee are a very good team and were four up at the break – we came into it a lot more second half and had a couple of vague chances but another couple of really soft goals made the final score 6-0.
Already one or two people are tipping them for the title.

PS..I was upset that a second half incident culminated in Robert manager being sent off – witnessing the scene personally, it was a very disappointing decision by the assistant referee which sparked the hoopla and to be honest I’m not quite sure why Rob was red-carded …but that’s football……and it can be very annoying sometimes!!

Speaking of the aforementioned Charlie Sinclair, and as reported, recently retired from the match day sponsor Fife Creamery. Thankfully he was very impressed our new look A4 colour team lines leaflet which carries the match’s team line-ups and club and sponsor information – in fact the leaflet received much praise from all quarters and a vast improvement to last year’s efforts – this is thanks to the purchase of a new printer!

SPONSORS
In these difficult financial times Strathspey Thistle would like to thank all our sponsors of the Club and of the players and management — we appreciate every penny.
Thank you.
A list of players sponsors will be uploaded very soon.

NEW PHOTOGRAPH ON HOME PAGE

Well done if you noticed our new home page photograph which was taken during last Saturday’s match and is courtesy of our drone guys Raymond MacWilliam and Mike Shand – and excellent it is too. Thanks gents!!

LOTTERY

As ever, as we finish this week’s post by asking you to play our online fundraising Lottery game – this week’s jackpot stands at £2100 with a runner-up prize of £100 for four numbers matching if there is no-one with five numbers. To play click here. 

All the best to the boys this weekend on the Jags quest for round two……

(celebrating the achievement of the England ladies fitba’ team)

HOME GAME v BANKS O’ DEE FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
SEAFIELD PARK, GRANTOWN, PH26 3HY
SATURDAY 19 AUGUST 2023

THIS MATCH IS SPONSORED BY FIFE CREAMERY 

Since 1957, Fife Creamery has led the way in delivering food and food products across Scotland.

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Back home for the first time this season in the Highland League23-24, we welcome Banks O’Dee FC to Seafield Park. 
Banks O’ Dee, joined the league in 2022, and visit us for only the second time and as yet we have yet to take a point from them. As usual, we are expecting a very tough game but again, as we seem to building up a good team spirit and more confidence we go into it with more positivity following our result on Wednesday.
Our visitors currently sit in third place in the league and will be expecting a better finish than last season – they finished in tenth position after an admission error which saw them in that position by being deducted twenty-four points – in fact we were above them for a couple of weeks……
The game kicks off at 3pm so hopefully we’ll have a big crowd to cheer the teams on.

For any Banks O’ Dee fans who want a bit more information about their visit to Grantown – click here

MATCH v BRORA RANGERS last Wednesday evening….

Brora won 3-1
From what my spies reported it seems we played really well and competed very much to the end and were very unlucky not to leave Dudgeon Park with a point.

We were two down at half time but fought back and a Jack Davison goal on seventy one minutes halved the deficit and for the following ten minutes were the dominant force and we were unlucky not to score with a Alan Kerr header and another shot from Jack Davison which hit the post, and on another night they may have gone in….Brora scored just after this making it 3-1….typical football!!
Comments after the match from a couple of unbiased spectators confirmed that we played really well, matching Brora all over the park.

The hospitality afforded to the committee members attending was very warm indeed …The Brora pie moves into second place in our PieChart …

FUNDRAISING LOTTERY

As ever we finish the post with a request for you to play our online lottery – click here for details of winning the £2000 jackpot…

AWAY MATCH v BRORA RANGERS FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
DUDGEON PARK, BRORA, KW9 6QN
WEDNESDAY 16 AUGUST 2023 – KO 8pm

We’re on the road again…. and we’re on our way to Brora for our third away match in a row – and on a, hopefully, summer’s evening.
Looking at the result on our corresponding fixture from last year, I seem to remember it was one of our better performances and one which then, new manager, Robert MacCormack could see some of the potential on the pitch that night from what was a very disappointing season. Let’s hope we can deliver another strong performance this season and leave Dudgeon Park with more positivity…..and with Ross County’s young goalkeeper on loan to Brora we have a return meeting with goalie Logan Ross and the Jags own flying winger Ross Logan…….one for the HFL Quiz nights….

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GOINGS ON

Although the Jags weren’t involved competitively over last weekend behind the scenes there was plenty going on.
Members of the committee helped set up a stand at the annual Farmers Show here in Grantown and stalwarts Graeme Stuart and Rob Clark were on standby all day, as the photos show, meeting and greeting the many people a sunny day brings out on Showday! 

It was a very successful venture and both enjoyed themselves at what was our first ever official attendance at The Show and no doubt the Jags duo will be back next year………..

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HOSPITALITY

Bookings for our hospitality packages this season are going very well – our home games against Rothes on Sep 9, Buckie Thistle on Oct 21, Forres Mechanics on Dec 9 and Formartine on 16 Dec have now been taken – we look forward to looking after you at Seafield Park and lets hope our guests go home after enjoying a home win……

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FUND RAISING DANCE 

Tickets are now on sale for the K and The Pupils dance in the RBL Scotland venue in Grantown – see poster for details

We’ll be back later this week for the build-up to our first home match on Saturday against Banks O’ Dee FC…….

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IMPORTANT REQUEST FROM OUR LOCAL REFEREES ASSOCIATIONS

All football matches in the Aberdeen, North East and North of Scotland areas require at least a referee and in certain other fixtures also assistant referees.
Throughout the years there has been an increase in the number of games being played at all levels including, but not exclusively, in Youth and Women’s football.

The three Referee Associations that cover the our areas are always looking to welcome new members and to this end, we would invite anyone interested to contact the Association which covers matches in the area in which they live.

During and since COVID, all three Associations have lost a number of referees who decided during the lay off period to move on and this has put a strain on numbers available. Therefore, new blood is sought now and going forward.

The Associations run introductory classes, face to face basis which can be tailored to suit candidates; and there is the alternative of doing the course on the Zoom platform.  In addition, there is also an on-line course which can be completed at the candidates own pace in their own surroundings, with details on the SFA website. All courses also have a face-to-face session for candidates to provide advice on the practicalities of officiating.

We would be delighted to hear from you and contact details are undernoted. Further details are also on the SFA website in the referee section.

Aberdeen & District Referees’ Association (incorporating Orkney and Shetland)

E-mail: aberdeenrefereeonline@outlook.com

             secretarysfarefereeaberdeen@outlook.com 

Website: www.aberdeenanddistrictreferees.co.uk

Moray and Banff Referees’ Association 

Email: mbrefereecourse@gmail.com

North of Scotland Referees’ Association 

Email: NOSRAinstructors@gmail.com

Website: www.nosref.org.uk

NO GAME THIS SATURDAY

We miss out on Saturday’s 12 August fixtures – our home game v Huntly FC has been postponed as Huntly are involved in the Preliminary Round of the Highland League Cup so we await confirmation of when that game will be scheduled to be played.

THURSDAY 10 AUGUST – GRANTOWN

For the first time Strathspey Thistle FC will have a presence at the annual Grantown Show. Manning the stand will be commercial manager Rob Clark and Lottery Convener and general good guy Graeme Stuart – so if you are attending the show go and have a chat with them – they will be able to answer all your questions about season tickets, potential sponsorship and ways to help the Club and also, how to sign up to play our weekly fundraising lottery – they will be delighted to speak to you and if the weathermen and ladies have got their forecast right it’s going to be a scorcher….

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY 

SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER

That fine purveyors of good solid rock music, and establishing themselves as one of the top musical groups in the North, have very kindly succumbed to pressure and have offered their services at a very very reasonable fee to help with the Jags fundraising drive. Rumours abound that another more aging combo may be the support band. So get there early – the evening starts at 9pm.
The dance at the Royal British Legion  Scotland’s Grantown venue will be a ticket only event and tickets for the evening can only be obtained from the venue itself. The cost of each ticket is £10 and payment is cash only. Tickets go on sale on Friday 11 August.

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MATCH v FORMARTINE UTD, Saturday 5 August

According to our travelling supporters at Formartine, the boys did well enough – good commitment and keeping their shape but again we gifted three goals – happenings which must be eradicated – I’m sure Rob, Mike and Robbie will be working on this over the next few days before our trip north to Brora.
Our statistics were three shots on goal, five off target, two corners and both James McShane and Owen Patterson were booked.

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COME AND HELP 

As I have stated before on the website, Strathspey Thistle would be very appreciative of some help in the running the Club – if you are into your football and want to have the satisfaction of watching and getting involved and seeing our local team compete in the Highland League please contact our Secretary Clive Wolstenholme by emailing strathspeythistlefc@highlandleague.com for details.

THE PIE CHART

One of the success stories from Saturday was that Formartine’s pies are very good. Our travelling support say they are going to keep us informed over the season of the some memorable pies available at the Highland League grounds.

LOTTERY

As is the case I sign off with the prospect of you winning this weeks jackpot of £1900 – to play click here –

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK FOR TWO POSTS INCLUDING OUR FIRST HOME GAME OF THE SEASON!!!

AWAY MATCH v FORMARTINE UNITED FC
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
NORTH LODGE PARK, PITMEDDEN AB41 7PA
SATURDAY 5 AUGUST 2023 – KO 3pm

We visit North Lodge Park for our away fixture with Formartine United. Formartine who last year finished in a very creditable fourth position are this year in the hunt for silverware – so says striker Paul Campbell in a recent interview. Fellow striker Scott Lisle should be a well kent face to the Jags fans who attend the game as he left Seafield Park a couple of years ago to continue on his successful goal scoring path. Manager Stuart Anderson will be without a couple players red-carded in last week’s opening League game against defending champions Brechin City which resulted in a 1-0 loss.

So we know we have a very tough game on our hands and as we suffered defeat in the corresponding fixture last season, it will be really interesting to see how the new look Jags match up.

We have no game next Saturday so our next fixture is on Wednesday 16 August with a trip to Brora and our match versus Brora Rangers FC.

MATCH v FORRES MECHANICS last Saturday –

It was a day fit for the start of a football season – intermittent blue sky and warm, no wind and greenish grass…very picturesque.

There were a few members of the squad missing so manager Rob had to make a couple of changes to the line-up from the last pre-season friendly.

The Jags got off to a dream start, and after a well worked move, Highland League debutant, Iain Ross opened the scoring for us on three minutes to make it 1-0. Forres replied six minutes later, through ex Jags loanee and Elgin City player Dylan Lawrence, and that’s how it finished at half-time. Forres manager Steven Macdonald was quoted in the press admitting his side were fortunate to be level as Thistle had missed a couple of very good chances. However in the second half, we seemed to lose our way a little and allowed Forres to score again the game ending 2-1 in Forres; favour.

However all the Jags contingent at the match were very much encouraged with the first half performance and hope that this will be our norm for the season ahead….

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LOTTERY

As ever we draw the curtains with our weekly request that you have a go at our online fundraising lottery – this week’s jackpot stands at £1800 – to play click here – that is as long as you are over sixteen years of age – good luck and thank you.

FUTURE DATES

To view the future fixtures – click here – correct on 3 August 2023. 

6^th  A Thursday friendly  game at Logie Park, Forres against Forres Thistle. It was a cloudy, damp evening for our second pre-season game on a pitch that was rock hard. The squad on duty for ‘The Strathy Jags’ was James Kendall (GK), Owen Patterson, Caelan Mutch, Cairn Giles,  Liam Grant, Iain Ross, Jack Mackay, Ross Logan, James McShane, Michael McKenzie, Seamus McGonaghy, and substitutes Charlie Fonweban, Scott Stewart and Jack Gilliland. 

In a competitive game we came out on top 4-2 with goals from McGonaghy, McShane and a brace from Ross Logan. Referee was Alan Proctor.

8^th  The Club’s biggest fund raiser of the year was the annual ‘Golf Day’ held at Grantown Golf Club. The weather was sunny and warm throughout the tournament which welcomed 42 teams. 

Thanks to the Golf Club for use of the course and to everyone who took part in what was a very good day. Many thanks to our sponsor MTECH for supporting the day.

12^th  Our first visit up the A9 to play Alness United from the North Caledonian league at their newly built 4G pitch which is part of the Alness Academy. We were lucky with the weather as it turned out a fine and warm evening. 

The squad on duty was James Kendal (GK), Owen Patterson, Caelan Mutch, William Urqhart, Taylor Sutherland, Jack Mackay, Iain Ross, Ross Logan, Jack Davison, Michael McKenzie, James McShane and substitutes Joe Cuthbert, Jack Gilliland and Seamus McGonaghy.’ The Strathy Jags’ finished comfortable winner’s by 9-2 (Ht 6-0) with goals from Jack Davison 4, Iain Ross 2, Michael McKenzie 2 and Owen Patterson. An enjoyable visit to a very fine community asset. Referee was David Alexander.

15^th  Game number 4 of our pre-season campaign and this time we welcomed to Seafield Park from the East of Scotland league Jeanfield Swifts. The squad on duty was Benn Bremner (GK), Owen Patterson, Caelan Mutch,  Taylor Sutherland, Jack Mackay, Ross Logan, Jack Davison, Michael McKenzie, James McShane, William Urquhart, James McLaren and substitutes Xavio Vastano (GK), Iain Ross, Joe Cuthbert, Cairn Giles, Seamus McGonaghy and Jack Gilliland. 

The weather forecast for the game was pretty awful but somehow we avoided the thunderstorms and rain but you could certainly hear the former. In an end to end contest the Swifts won the day 4-3 in what was for both sides a very good workout. For ‘The Strathy Jags’ James McLaren bagged a pair with James McShane the other. You will notice we welcomed two triallist Goalkeepers, Benn Bremner and Xavio Vastano. Benn played the opening half and Xavio the second 45 minutes. Referee was Gordon Seago.

19^th  A visit to Seafield Park from Inverness Caledonian Thistle under 18 team. The squad on duty was James Kendall (GK) Owen Patterson, Caelan Mutch, Taylor Sutherland, Jack Mackay, Iain Ross, Ross Logan, Jack Davison, Cairn Giles, Seamus McGonaghy, Jack Gilliland with substitutes Liam Grant and Joe Cuthbert. A pleasant Summer evening gave us another very competitive game which was played in a decent spirit and well refereed by David Alexander. ICT took the lead on 28 minutes and it wasn’t until minutes 88 and 90 that the Jags secured victory thanks to Owen Patterson and Ross Logan goals.

22^nd  Last pre-season game was a visit to play New Elgin JFC. A sunny and warm afternoon awaited the squad which was as follows. Benn Bremner (GK), Owen Patterson, Caelan Mutch, Taylor Sutherland, Jack Mackay, Iain Ross, Ross Logan, Jack Davison, Joe Cuthbert, William Urquhart, James Maclaren with substitutes Seamus McGonaghy, Jack Gilliland and a welcome return to the squad for Alan Kerr. The opening twenty minutes were overshadowed by a superb display from the Red Arrows who were visiting nearby RAF Lossiemouth. Against a backdrop of blue skies it was superb. The game resulted in a 5-1 win for ‘The Strathy Jags’ with goals from Iain Ross 2, Ross Logan, Jack Mackay and Taylor Sutherland. The countdown now starts for our opening Breedon Highland League fixture at Mosset Park, Forres on Saturday July 29^th.

29^th  A warm and sunny afternoon in Forres ended in disappointment. After a good first half which saw the team take the lead on three minutes through Iain Ross and create other scoring chances it was the old failing of a defensive mistake that let the’ Can-Cans’ back into the game through their new signing Dylan Lawrence. Going in all square at half-time was pleasing especially the way the team had played. It is always a game of two halves and this one was no different. As Team Manager Robert MacCormack said after the game “We didn’t come out in the second half” which was very disappointing. We have a week to prepare for our first long journey of the season to North Lodge Park, Pitmedden to take on Formartine United FC. 

STARTING OVER

Well….off we go and into another season in the Breedon Highland League and full of optimism for a better season than we produced last year. Realistically we’re not going to win the league – that’ll be up to the six or seven clubs whose finances mirror their ambitions of winning it – but we are hoping that the performances on the park week in and week out warrant a lot more points and we concede a lot less goals than we did last season – I think most Jags fans would be very happy with that which in turn will hopefully entice in more spectators at Seafield Park.

Manager Robert MacCormack, assistant manager Mike Rae and first team coach Robbie Flett have had a successful pre-season with the boys with four good wins and a narrow defeat.
We are better prepared for the rough and tumble of the League than we have been for a few seasons now, so hopefully our optimism will be rewarded with some good results in the next few weeks – even though as we stated last week we have six away games out of seven to start with – our first home game is on August 19 which is sandwiched between four away and then, three away games – admittedly two are cup games which we have been drawn away from home but financially it’s a costly start …..

THE TEAM

There are plenty of changes from last year and hopefully we will have a far more permanent squad as there were many ins and outs over the past year which didn’t help with consistency.

Goalkeeper James Kendall played a few games towards the end of last season and proved that he will be an asset at the back.
Local lad Liam Grant, who was out for most of last season with injury, has been involved in a couple of the pre-season games so we are hoping that this year he will be able to retain and maintain his fitness as he was missed last year. Owen Paterson returns and his recent performances at right back have been excellent – and has scored a couple of goals ! Another loca,l Cairn Giles has also extended his contract for another year. He impressed very much in defence last year, but, again, one or two injuries prevented him having a long run in the team. They join new signings Taylor Sutherland and Caelan Mutch in a much changed defence and one we at JagsWeb have high hopes for. Both Taylor and Caelan  have looked very impressive pre-season and we assume that will continue into the Highland League.
It was good to see that both Joe Cuthbert and Alan Kerr had signed on for another year – Joe who has been with the Jags for a mighty long time always gives one hundred per cent and can play in either defence or midfield or up front so it’s great to have him back, as it is Alan, who finished last season with a nasty injury and as such has missed some of the pre-season build up, but will be back to continue his versatile roles either at the back or up front. 
With the addition of some recognised defenders this hopefully allows captain James McShane to return to his rightful and best position – that is in mid-field along side Jack Gilliland, Jack Davison and local lad, Daniel Whitehorn. This year they are joined by Jack MacKay and ex-loan player, now fully signed Seamus McConaghy as well as Owen Loveland another on—loan player returning for a year so we at JagsWeb think that’s an excellent selection of players and we are excited to see how they will merge together in what we think is a strong and powerful mid-field. This quality also gives Manager Rob a lot of permutations and cover for injuries etc….
Ross Logan returns up front to bamboozle the opposition defenders and this year he is joined on the other wing by Iain Ross a player very similar to Ross in his playing skills so hopefully we will have double-bamboozle…..and up front will have Mike MacKenzie who joined at the end of last season and in the games he has played has shown that he can score goasl and create chances for his team-mates. James McLaren has also signed on a years contract and having played some games pre-season and scoring twice we hope that he will continue in that vein – Jude Fraser also joined us pre-season and in his first game scored a good forward’s goal before suffering a nasty injury so we look forward to getting him back to fitness to join what we hope will be a really successful forward line.

AWAY MATCH v FORRES MECHANICS FC
MOSSET PARK, FORRES, IV36 1AU
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
SATURDAY 29 JULY 2023 – KO 3PM

We make the short 22 mile journey to Forres and off to Mosset Park we go…..
This has been the usual start to our league campaign over the past couple of years or so – it’s either a home or an away fixture against The Can-Cans.
First games are always different as both teams are full of expectation and the hope of a decent performance and result to set them up for what is a long campaign over the winter. 
As already stated above there will be quite a difference in our starting line-up from last season, so fingers crossed we get off to a good result, but, more importantly the boys play well and give their all – other than that as supporters we can’t ask for more.

After Forres we’re off to Pitmedden and Formartine United next Saturday.

LOTTERY

The usual finish to the post is to invite you to play our fundraising on-line Lottery game – click here for more details – the jackpot this week stands at £1700 – and remember you have to be over-16 to play….thanks and good luck.