September 3rd 2026
BREEDON HIGHLAND LEAGUE
NAIRN COUNTY VS ROTHES
3PM, SATURDAY 25TH JULY 2026
STATION PARK, NAIRN
Written by Pierce Menzies
Nairn County will host Rothes in their Breedon Highland League opener on Saturday with Jake Thomson likely to face his former club.
Finn Munro, Jake Thomson, and Leo Walker all featured for the Wee County in pre-season, with Thomson on the scoresheet against Lossiemouth United.
On Nairn’s pre-season preparations, manager Wayne Mackintosh said: “We managed to spend some time on our shape this pre-season, which we didn’t get the chance to do last season.
“I feel we did not have much of an identity last year, so we have worked on things to make us more creative and better defensively and we are hoping that we can be more successful and more enjoyable to watch.”
Rothes arrive at Station Park having finished in 18th place last season, with new manager Ryan Esson keen to impress after he took over the Speysiders over the summer.
Nairn head into the new campaign off the back of a testing pre-season where they held SPFL League 1 side Ross County to a 2-2 draw and defeated North of Scotland Football League side Lossiemouth United 6-1.
Esson’s Rothes had a mixture of results during their pre-season as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Dufftown before they defeated Islavale 3-0, with their last game ending in defeat at the hands of Dundee United’s U19 side.
Saturday’s game will see Thomson face his former side after the attacker joined the Wee County over the summer.
Thomson said: “I think this is the best pre-season I have had in terms of being at my fittest and getting good minutes in the legs in our pre-season games.
“The boys here have made it really easy for me to settle in, which is always a bonus when going somewhere new.
“I am excited to be playing against Rothes on my debut. It will be good to see some of my old teammates and I know that they will be a lot fitter and sharper than last season, so they will be well up for giving us a tough game.”
Last season’s meetings between the two sides saw the Wee County come out on top as Nairn won 4-0 in both league fixtures between the two sides.
The game is a cash gate or tickets are available in advance here.
Under-16s get in free.
