Nairn County reserves boss Stuart Finnie is urging his young side to play to their energetic strengths in their North Caledonian Cup semi showdown at home to St Duthus on Saturday.
Nairn are seeking to bounce back from successive league losses against ever-improving Inverness Athletic when they take on the Saints.
These teams, who are 10th and sixth respectively in the North Caledonian League, have met twice in the league this season.
NORTH CALEDONIAN LEAGUE (SPONSORED BY @MacandMac28) – 5.3.22
Alness Utd v Loch Ness
Invergordon v Thurso
Bonar Bridge v Inverness AthNORTH CALEDONIAN CUP SEMI-FINALS
Nairn County 'A' v St. Duthus
Golspie v Halkirk UtdAll 2 p.m kick-offs unless stated #NCFA pic.twitter.com/maN4XRaSrY
— North Caledonian FA (@NorthCaleyFA) February 26, 2022
Away back in August, Nairn scored a 3-2 home win against the Saints, but with Alan Geegan in charge, the Tain team responded in late January with a 2-0 triumph.
Nairn booked their semi spot by beating hosts Thurso on penalties after a 1-1 draw, while St Duthus defeated Inverness Athletic and Orkney to reach this stage.
Lifting the spirits ahead of semi-final
Finnie knows his team will have to be at their best to get the win, but admits the prize is huge for his squad.
He said: “Our league form has not been good at all lately, so this is a chance for us to change focus and aim to reach a cup final.
“We have a chance on Saturday to go and do something. To get to a cup final would be massive for this group of boys.
“We’re suffering a bit from a lack of confidence. This week, we have been just telling the boys they are a good bunch of boys who, on their day, are capable of beating anyone.
“It will take a big performance. We also need a bit of luck as well. We deserve to be in the semi-final. We won on penalties, but Thurso were lucky to even get a draw from it and I saw their manager said the same thing.
“When we lost 2-0 at Tain in January, there was not much in it. They were just more clinical. They have a lot of experience, which is what we lack. Anyone good enough to help out would probably be in Ronnie Sharp’s first-team.
“We need to get the ball down and play to our strengths, making best use of our youthfulness. We aim to keep possession and be clinical as we’re not scoring enough goals.”
Athletic too strong in latest fixtures
The back-to-back defeats by Inverness were sore for Nairn, and Finnie had no complaints about the outcomes after a strong start in the first of the matches.
He said: “In the first game, we could have been two or three up by half-time. In the second half, they came out strong and got their noses in front and probably deserved it.
“In the game last week, they deserved the win. They have made a few signings lately and I would expect them to win a few more games to pull away from the bottom end of the table.”
Halkirk firing ahead of Golspie semi
In the second semi-final on Saturday, which also starts at 2pm, Golspie Sutherland host Halkirk United in what should be another fascinating tie.
Current league champions Golspie defeated today’s pace-setters Loch Ness 3-1 to reach the last four, while Halkirk United knocked out holders Invergordon and Alness United with impressive 3-1 and 4-1 victories.
In league terms, there will be great attention on the action at Alness and Invergordon.
A stunning 3-2 victory from 2-0 down against leaders Loch Ness last weekend hauled Invergordon to within four points of top position, with a game in hand.
They are home to basement side Thurso and will be expected to stay on the title hunt and will hope Loch Ness drop a point or three at mid-table Alness United.
Bonar Bridge aim to stay in front
In the other league match this Saturday, eighth-placed Bonar Bridge will be seeking to stay in front of visitors Inverness Athletic.
The Highland capital side, who have announced brothers Andrew and Stuart Ross as their management team for 2022/23, continue to be led to Jason Golabek until the end of the season.
Bonar Bridge, whose last outing was a 5-1 cup defeat to Thurso one month ago, are one point in front of their opponents and have played one match less.