Possibly another 500 plus crowd up at Station Park this afternoon for the thriller that saw Nairn take the points but in a contest that was in fact closer than the bookies had speculated. There was a run on the pies and one fan, Stacey, was to express her disappointment on the social media. The game was a good advert for the Highland League and as one fan later tweeted "Nairn v Forres was quality". This was an event made all the more special by the tributes to Ally MacLeod from the players and the fans - as documented in previous Gurn articles, assistant manager Ally will undergo a bone marrow transplant in the New Year and then have to spend an extended period in quarantine. This was then Ally's last appearance in the dug out this season and it made the game all the more special as the team went out to do their best for him and the massed ranks of the County family on the terraces and in the refurbished stand.
A derby against Forres is time out from the normal scheme of things (even if you are in the top three), it is an event with its own momentum and a resurgent Forres provided tough oppositon. A match report should appear soon on the Highland Football League Hub soon but it will be hard to accurately detail the "quality" goals and the misses that both sides made - some mesmerising play was witnessed out there on the hallowed turf earlier today that saw Conor Gethins add another two to the season's tally and one for Archie MacPhee too. Incidentally Conor's 2nd goal today was his 99th in a County shirt - a fantastic tally for the popular County striker.
Fitting today then that Alan Dallas of the Dolphin Chipper, sponsoring the match, should award "Man of the Match" to Ally. Ally said earlier this evening on the Fans Facebook page:
"Outstanding turn out by the fans today for what was a good game of football played between two very good sides, yes some scrappy parts in the game but some excellent play as well.
I hope the fans stay behind the team as I for one are very confident of the ability and desire of the squad to step on and win things. Believe, positive, desire and togetherness and you can see that this squad has all that.
Enjoy your new year and hopefully there will be a massive support next week at Forres."
Good luck Ally, the thoughts of all "We Believers" are with you. Next week as Ally mentioned the Wee County make the short trek along the A96 to Mosset Park for part 2 of the back to back Christmas and New Year derbys with Forres. Doing anything next Saturday afternoon?
Individual images here.
And Kenny Macleod's images:
Individual images here.
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