Holders St Duthus bowed out of the North Caledonian League Cup when they were beaten 2-1 in the quarter-finals by visitors Loch Ness.
The Tain team trail leaders Loch Ness by 10 points in the North Caledonian League, but have two games in hand, so remain with an outside chance to competing for the title in the closing months.
However, their interest in the cup was ended here as goals from Liam Taylor and Phil MacDonald had them trailing 2-0 at half-time.
Finn As-Chainey halved the deficit with 20 minutes to go, but Saints could not find a second goal, which would have taken the tie into extra-time.
Golspie leave it late to win thriller
Golspie Sutherland will meet Loch Ness in the semis after they won a thriller 3-2 against Halkirk United at King George V Park.
The deadlock was not broken until the hour mark when Owen Harrold made it 1-0 for Golspie, but Kyle Henderson swiftly restored parity.
Robbie Murray gave Golspie a 2-1 advantage on 77 minutes, but again Halkirk hit back through William Cannop with five minutes remaining.
Halkirk were reduced to 10 men and were then beaten in the closing moments when Korbyn Cameron’s cross was knocked home by a visiting defender.
Invergordon and Nairn reach semis
Extra-time was required to decide a pulsating quarter-final as Invergordon defeated Inverness Athletic after trailing 2-0.
Ryan MacLeod opened the scoring for Inverness on 12 minutes and doubled up with another on 28 minutes.
Defending league champions Invergordon, however, responded as goals from Benjamin Kelly and Stuart Leslie made it 2-2 in time for the break.
What a result from the lads today. 2 down to win 3-2 . @InvergordonFC
— Invergordon FC (@InvergordonFC) February 4, 2023
The rivals sought a winner within 90 minutes, but it went into extra-time before Niall Docherty scored on 105 minutes to take Invergordon through.
Nairn County reserves will be Invergordon’s semi-final opponents after they were 2-1 home winners against Alness United.
Alness had Robert Mitchell in charge, where he will be until the end of the season, following boss Robert MacCormack standing down last week.
Skipper Scott Mutch drove his team in front after 20 minutes when he powered forward and smashed an unstoppable 25-yarder into the net.
Alness hauled themselves level when Michael Mckenzie scored on 73 minutes and this tie looked destined for another half an hour.
However, Stuart Finnie’s young Nairn side, who pressed Loch Ness all the way in a 5-3 league loss last week, booked their last-four spot with a last-gasp Kieran Duffty header.
The cup semi-finals are set for Saturday, March 18.
Orkney go seven up against Clach ‘A’
In the only league game on, Orkney ran out 7-0 victors against Clachnacuddin reserves at Alness Academy.
Callan Jessiman and Liam Delday goals put the islanders 2-0 ahead inside 20 minutes before a Owen Rendall hat-trick inside a 20-minute period spanning the interval pushed the scoreline on to 5-0.
The young Lilywhites kept plugging away, but goals from Chris Simpson and Aiden Cooper in the final 10 minutes wrapped out a convincing result for Orkney, which takes them seventh in the table, with Clach staying 10th.
Final score
Clach Reserves 0 v 7 Orkney#ncfa #northcaley@NorthCaleyFA @MacandMac28— Clach Reserves (@ClachReserves) February 4, 2023
The Bonar Bridge v Fort William league fixture was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
There is a full league programme this coming Saturday, with leaders Loch Ness travelling to Orkney, St Duthus hosting Clach ‘A’ and it’s third v fourth as Inverness Athletic take on Fort William.
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