Manager Craig Ewen hopes loan signing Jake Stewart can deliver the goals to help Keith climb the Breedon Highland League table.
The striker has joined the Maroons from Formartine United on a temporary deal until the end of the season.
Keith are sitting 17th in the table with 11 points from 15 fixtures and Ewen hopes Stewart’s qualities in the final third can help secure more points.
The 27-year-old joined Formartine from Junior club Rothie Rovers last summer and has scored three times this season.
Stewart won’t be able to feature for Keith on Saturday, because they are facing his parent club at North Lodge Park.
Ewen said: “We can’t deny that we’ve been short when it comes to scoring goals, and Jake has a proven track record as a goalscorer.
New signing
JAKE STEWART
Keith Football Club is delighted to announce the loan signing of Jake Stewart from
Formartine United Football Club on a Standard Temporary Transfer until the end of the 2023/24 Season.Welcome to the maroons pic.twitter.com/sv8hDTWp3X
— Keith Football Club (@KeithFC) January 10, 2024
“I tried to sign Jake when he was still at Rothie Rovers – he’s always a player I’ve admired.
“Where we are just now, I’m hoping he can come in and get some goals for us.
“Jake’s a finisher and at the moment that’s maybe something we’re lacking and we’ve been trying to find a player to score goals regularly.
“If one of the boys we’ve got or Jake can do that for us then it could move us into a much better position in the league.
“We’re delighted to bring him in on loan and I’m looking forward to seeing him in action.
“Unfortunately, because we’re playing Formartine, he can’t play this week, but hopefully when we get him playing he can score goals for Keith.”
Buckie’s MacAskill signs on again
Meanwhile, Buckie Thistle midfielder Andrew MacAskill has penned a contract extension until the summer of 2027.
The 31-year-old joined the Jags in December 2017 after returning from a spell in Australia.
Since arriving at Victoria Park, MacAskill has established himself as a key player for Buckie and is back fit again after breaking his right arm in October.
Thistle manager Graeme Stewart added: “I’m absolutely delighted that Andrew has shown his commitment and loyalty to the club by signing this new deal.
“He’s a massive part of our team. We’ve missed his experience on the park when he was out recently with a broken arm.
“Loyalty is not a word used very often in football these days, and Andrew committing to the cause shows what a superb team spirit we have here at Buckie.”
Strachan staying with Cattachs
Elsewhere, Brora Rangers have extended Matthew Strachan’s loan from Inverness Caledonian Thistle for the rest of the season.
The 18-year-old defender joined the Cattachs in August, and manager Ally MacDonald is pleased to have retained his services.
Brora still have 22 Highland League games to play this season and are also still in the Scottish Cup, as well as the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup final, with MacDonald expecting his squad to be stretched.
✍️ We welcome back Matthew Strachan on loan for the remainder of the season from Inverness Caledonian Thistle, after a successful 1st half the season at Dudgeon Park.
🔴⚪️🔴⚪️👊🙌 pic.twitter.com/QEt0Lov7Ds— Brora Rangers (@brorarangers) January 11, 2024
He said: “Matthew’s a young player with a lot of potential, he’s done well with us in the first half of the season and we’re delighted he’s going to be with us for the rest of the season.
“With the amount of games we’ve got to play this season, our squad will be tested, so we need to have good options and Matthew gives us that.
“We want to be challenging and hopefully Matthew can help us do that.”
Meanwhile, midfielder Adam Mackinnon, who was on-loan at Brora from Ross County, has been recalled by the Staggies.
The 20-year-old, who also spent part of 2021-22 season at Dudgeon Park, returned for a second stint with the Cattachs in October.
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