Unfortunately this Saturday’s home game with Turriff United in the Breedon Highland League has had been postponed. Seafield Park is still frozen ….so that’ll be a month since we played our last competitive game due to either weather or co-vid . We just hope that next week all is well in the world so we can travel to Keith and be able to play a game of football!!.
From the Elgin City FC twitter feed on January 2
DYLAN LAWRENCE
We are delighted to announce 18 year old striker Dylan Lawrence has signed his first pro contract. The forward is contracted to the Club until 2023. The youngster will now join Strathspey Thistle on a Season long loan to gain some more game time.
Dylan signing on for Elgin City FC watched over by Elgin manager Gavin Price.
Welcome to Strathspey Thistle FC Dylan….. and we hope you are ultra successful here…
Ethan Cairns has been recalled to Inverness Thistle after joining us on loan last summer – we wish him all the best in his footballing career and thank him very much for what he did here at Seafield Park.
However – the Club Lottery continues and last Sunday (9th) we had our first online success – Stephen Matheson from Grantown won the £100 prize. This week the top prize is £1600. So please go online and please support the Club by playing. Just click here.
December 2 We welcome Steve Rattray who has joined the club to work with the team management as both match-day physio and part of the coaching staff.
December 4 We were able to arrange at short notice a friendly against an Elgin City XI at the new football complex next to their Borough Briggs ground. The pitch is 4G and the facilities are really impressive. Use will be made of the complex seven days a week.
December 10 John Campbell will succeed Rod Houston as the Breedon Highland League’s new secretary, replacing Rod at the end of the season. Rod has been secretary for six years and has been a big help to me personally since I joined Strathspey. John is 53 and from Lossiemouth. He was a referee in the SHFL and the Scottish League and has been CEO of the Scottish Welfare Football Association for the last ten years.
December 11 After receiving a call from Wick FC’s secretary that the game was on we left Grantown and Inverness and headed north on the A9. A break in the journey was made at Golspie before arriving at Harmsworth Park just as the weather started to change for the worst. Conditions were difficult for both sides with the Jags more than holding their own only to concede a penalty right on half-time which Wick converted. To compound our problems we lost goalkeeper Robbie Donaldson to a straight red card two minutes into the second half. Andrew Skinner took over in goal and was outstanding considering the pressure he and the team were under.
Andrew Skinner without the keeper’s gloves!
It was a long journey home with thoughts turning to the visit of Forres Mechanics next Saturday, weather permitting.
Click here to play the STFC Lottery and support the club
December 13 The search was now on for a replacement keeper for the next game as Michael MacCallum has a broken finger and it is not known when he will be fit.
The weather in the early part of the week was mild and the pitch, after rolling, was in good condition. Grantown Golf Club have given us permission to use their car park as an overflow if we need to in order to protect the grassed area running from the main entrance to the Golf Club fence.
December 18 As the weather has changed and snow and frost are forecast a pitch inspection was arranged for Friday afternoon at 4pm and again at 10am on the morning of the match. A frozen pitch meant the game was called off, much to everyone’s disappointment and the long range forecast leading up to the holiday game with Clacnacuddin at Seafield Park also doesn’tlook promising.
December 23 We have allowed Andrew MacLean to join Alness United on loan for a week and have signed Ryan Hunter, formerly of Fort William, as a one game replacement for the suspended Robbie Donaldson.
At a meeting of the Highland League instructions were received that all signed players are to test daily using lateral flow testing kits and sending the results to the club. The club also decided to suspend boardroom and paying guests hospitality in order to help the fight against Omicron and Covid. Hospitality for the Clachnacuddin game had been sold out. Ewan Neil and Shane Davies have had their loans extended to the end of the season.
December 26 After a pitch inspection at 4pm the game with Clachnacuddin was called off due to a frozen park. A disappointing end to 2021 and let’s hope for a good start to 2022 at Lossiemouth on Sunday January 3.
Click here to play the STFC Lottery and support the club
The away game v Lossiemouth FC at Grant Park, Lossiemouth on Monday 3 January 2022 has been postponed because of a Co-Vid outbreak in the Lossie playing squad. On contacting the Highland League with the information permission was given to postpone.
Lossiemouth
We were hoping for a visit to the seaside and our first fixture of the New Year and hopefully get our first game of football in a month ….but it is not to be and the fixture against the team currently immediately above us in the Breedon Highland League will have to wait until later in the season.
We now look forward to our next home which will be on Saturday 8 January 2022 against Turriff United – another six pointer!!! Hopefully the Jags will be not too rusty due to their lack of competitive matches over the past six weeks or so as it will be a tough game.
What a great start to the new year too would be a win on the Club Lottery – please click on the logo to play online. >>>>>>>>> The Lottery is very important for the Club – so thanks for your support in 2021.
Sorry folks but the game tomorrow vs Inverness Clachnacuddin has been postponed as the pitch is still frozen and as ever safety is paramount in the decision making – so unfortunately no game. We now have to look forward, in the New Year, to our next Breedon Highland League game which is away to Lossiemouth FC on Monday 3 January KO 3pm.
MATCH V INVERNESS CLACHNACUDDIN – SEAFIELD PARK MONDAY 27 DECEMBER 2021 KO 3pm
We hope you have all had a very enjoyable Christmas and we hope Santa was good to you and you’ve not overeaten or consumed too many aperitifs…….. If you are coming to the match could you please observe our CoVid protocols and stay safe.
We have permission from Grantown Golf Club to use their car parking facilities instead of using the grass area to the right sight of the stadium entrance gates. There will be signage for directions to the car park which is situated more or less next to the stadium. Blue Badge holders will still be able to park as normal.
Home Match v Inverness Clachnacuddin FC on Monday 27 December 3pm kick off
Strathspey Thistle FC players, staff and management committee would like to wish our loyal supporters, and everyone else a very Merry Christmas.
After we welcome Santa Claus into our homes, we then welcome Inverness Clachnacuddin FC to Seafield Park for a Breedon Highland League match on Monday 27 December 3pm kick off.
Reports in this week local newspaper, the “Strathy”, confirm the signing for a month, as a trialist, of former Fort William keeper Ryan Hunter and he will go straight in to the team to face Clach – – see last weeks post for more details.
Manager Charlie Brown says that we are starting a group of games in that we must not lose points – we have had a tough few weeks playing the top seven teams so we must make the following games count for a better league placement…..
As is usual at this time of the year/season we are at the mercy of the weather, as was proved again last week when the game against Forres Mechanics was postponed after an 11am pitch inspection we are also combatting CoVid again.
So, if all goes well, weather and CoVid wise, we wish Charlie and the boys all the best for Monday.
As opposed to our usual Sunday draws the dates of the next three draws over the Festive Period are: Tues. 28th December 2021 Tues. 4th January 2022 Sun. 9th January 2022 Tickets may be purchased up to the days of the draws (i.e. up to 1900hrs at the Claymore Bar and online up to 1800hrs).
Unfortunately the aforementioned fire in the engine room was not enough to thaw out Seafield Park today!! As you will have seen from our Twitter and Facebook feeds our match with Forres Mechanics has been postponed due to a frozen pitch which means our next game will be now after Christmas – another home game, this time against Inverness Clachnacuddin – kick off 3pm.
All of us at Strathspey Thistle wish you a very safe and enjoyable Christmas.
Home Match v Forres Mechanics – Seafield Park, Grantown Saturday 18 December 2021 – KO 3pm
Jags attack in the pre-season friendly in the summer sun.
Let’s hope there’s plenty of fire in the engine room this Saturday when we look forward to Forres Mechanics’ second visit to Seafield Park this season. Following on from a friendly and a one-nil win on a sunny afternoon in July, we hope that we can repeat or better that result and collect three points which would make a nice Christmas present to our loyal supporters.
We were unfortunate last week to go down by a goal to nil at Wick. Just after the start of the second half we lost Rob Donaldson, our keeper, to a red card decision – the referee deemed his tackle on a Wick player to be of the “ denying a player of a goal scoring opportunity” kind even though according to the Jags representatives at the match there was cover behind him – which means an automatic one game suspension for Rob. Andrew Skinner took over in goals as Mike McCallum was not on the subs bench as he has a broken finger and will be out for some time.
Superstar “keeper” Andrew Skinner
Andrew played “a blinder”, as they say, making a few very decent saves and may be back on goal keeping duties on Saturday. Both the SFA and the Highland League allow us to sign a goalkeeper to temporarily cover and manager Charlie Brown and the rest of the signing team are scouring the North for someone suitable….. . We wish whoever is in goal and the rest of the team all the best. REMEMBER STAY SAFE IF YOU ARE ATTENDING THE GAME.
Also one for your diary….this is the first of two home games in a row in the Breedon Highland League…we host Inverness Clachnacuddin on Monday 27 December – kick off 3pm.
Speaking of early Christmas presents there will be a special offer for half-season tickets only available at the front gate from Graeme’s box-office at the Forres and Clach games – as from this Saturday’s game we have still 9 home matches to play and the cost for a full ticket will be £50.00 : Concessions (over 60 and between 12-15 Years) will be £25.00 – as ever supervised under 12’s get in free. According to my calculations that is £5/£2.50 per game which is some bargain.
Graeme Stuart will be on hand if you want to purchase the Half-Season Ticket special deal
Also available will be some more late Christmas presents…club merchandise…..hats, scarves, badges etc
The jackpot stands at £1300 for this weeks draw – if you want to play online click on the lottery logo>>>>>> Thank you and good luck
