December 5th 2023
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
CLACHNACUDDIN 0 NAIRN COUNTY 2
TUESDAY 03 JANUARY 2023
GRANT STREET PARK, INVERNESS
Goalscorers: Andrew Greig (25), Ciaran Young (29)
There may have been some doubt about this game going ahead due to frost but the scintillating form of Andrew Greig will have gome some way to thawing out the surace with the red hot winger terrorising the Clach defence in this controlled County win at Grant Street.
We looked to stamp our authority on the game from the off, rarely allowing Clach out of their own half early on but without threatening Martin MacKinnon in the home goal.
The first effort at goal took until the 20th minute to arrive but Fraser Dingwall’s header off a Greig corner kick floated past the far post.
Sam Gordon put in another tireless shift on the right and his pressing led to our opener on 25 minutes. He won the ball high in opposition territory, before feeding Kenny McKenzie, who drove forward before finding Andrew Greig. He then lfited his head before flating the ball over the head of MacKinnon and into the net at the far post.
We doubled our lead out of nothing just four mintues later. Ciaran Young chased a lost cause and bullied hesitant Clach defender Andrew Macleod out of possession on the by-line to the right of goal. Then, from the tightest of angles, he squeezed his shot under MacKinnon and into the net via the base of the far post.
The two-goal lead was no less than we deserved given our domination and total control of the early proceedings. And Gordon nearly got in on the act on 31 minutes when he met at long ball forward from Ross Tokely but his effort was turned behind by MacKinnon.
Clach barely mustered a shot on goal all afternoon, with restored custodian Dylan Maclean gathering everything that came into his box when required. The closest the hosts came to testing the Nairn goalkeeper was a long range free kick by Ali Gillies, which went well over the crossbar.
The impressive Kenny McKenzie almost squeezed home number three on 68 minutes after substitute Scott Davidson had fed the unplayable Greig, who weaved his way into the box once more before finding McKenzie, who could not quite lift the ball over MacKinnon as the goalkeeper made the block at the expense of a corner.
Wayne Mackintosh had previously tried his luck from range on two earlier occasions, twice sending the ball over the crossbar although this time he did manage to keep his 22-yard shot down but he dragged it past the left-hand post on 82 minutes.
NAIRN COUNTY: Dylan Maclean, Callum Maclean, Stephen Rennie, Ross Tokely, Fraser Dingwall, Wayne Mackintosh (Lewis Mitchell 90+2), Sam Gordon (Aidan Cruickshank 73), Angus Dey, Kenny McKenzie, Ciaran Young (Scott Davidson 63), Andrew Greig.
Subs unused: Conor Gethins, Cameron Lisle, Steven Mackay, Lewis Munro (GK).
Referee: B. Baxter.
