Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Neil Gauld targeting 300 goals for Inverurie Locos in new Highland League season

Neil Gauld taking a penalty. 
Picture by Jim Irvine
Neil Gauld taking a penalty. Picture by Jim Irvine

Striker Neil Gauld is targeting 300 goals for Inverurie Locos.

The Harlaw Park hitman has notched 274 goals for the Railwaymen and is the club’s record scorer.

Reaching a triple century of strikes is something Gauld is eager to achieve.

The 33-year-old has been playing a waiting game when it comes to reaching the landmark. The Highland League has been shut since March and for months it was hard to see how or when it might resume. However, a start date of October 17 has now been pencilled in, with a 16-game league season planned.

Clubs being allowed to return to training without Covid-19 testing has made a resumption possible for Highland League teams, while the scheduled return of socially-distanced supporters is also seen as key, with income from gate receipts and hospitality vital.

Gauld said: “The aim is to get to 300 goals, but it’s been hard to look at any challenge or target like that.

“We could have been playing 10 games next season, we could have been playing 20 or we might not have been playing at all, so I haven’t been thinking about it.

“It would be a great achievement and I always aim to get as many goals as I can.

“I probably didn’t think I would get this many when I first started off in the Highland League.

“It’s something to be proud of and hopefully at some point I will manage to get to 300.”

No requirement to conduct coronavirus testing, allied to fans being allowed to return, could prove game-changers for the Highland League.

Gauld admits he found it hard to foresee a return prior to the need for testing being relaxed.

Crowds are also critical for the Highland League to successfully resume and it is hoped test events at a higher level this month will pave the way for fans to return safely at lower levels.

Highland League veteran Gauld is well aware of the difficulties clubs would face if they had to play with no fans coming through the turnstiles.

The former Huntly and Formartine United player added: “In the Highland League, we don’t get much money from the SFA.

“If we had to start and there was no hospitality – or people going to games – then it would put clubs in debt just paying the wages.

“So it’s hard to see how a restart could work without people coming in.”