Ten-man Fort fall short

Fort William 3

Turriff United 7 Football – Highland League

A FIRST-HALF sending off proved to be the difference on Saturday in an exhilarating match at Claggan Park as Turriff United made the most of their numerical advantage to beat Fort William, despite the home side taking the lead on two occasions in the game.

Fort William were 3-2 to the good before a last-ditch challenge saw captain Iain Foggo given his marching orders minutes before the half-time break.

Fort William got off to a poor start in the second half, conceding a Scott Miller goal after just seven minutes. However, they refused to bow down and responded with their own goal after 25 minutes, courtesy of Scott Hunter, who has hit a rich vein of form since returning to the squad.

The game ebbed and flowed before United pulled one back to tie the scores thanks to a David Booth penalty in the 32nd minute.

Again, the Fort bounced back and with just four minutes to go before the halftime whistle, Hunter grabbed his second of the match.

Soon after, Iain Foggo was adjudged to have committed a foul, denying a goal scoring opportunity for United. He was shown a second yellow card and sent for an early shower.

To compound the Fort’s misfortune, United scored a minute later through Miller to tie the scores on the stroke of half-time.

Turriff started the second half with a renewed intent, keen to hammer home their numerical advantage. Angus Grant netted a brace and Miller rounded off his hat-trick before James Chalmers got on the scoresheet with just a minute to spare of the 90.

Fort William finished the match with nothing to show for what was in large an impressive performance and one that warranted some points.

The Fort faced Keith in their final Highland League match last night (Wednesday May 2).

An update on the off-field situation at Fort William FC can be found in the news pages of this week’s Lochaber Times.