Ruthless Brora humiliate faltering Fort William side

BRORA Rangers showed no mercy against an understrength Fort William team on Saturday as they ruthlessly thumped the visitors 16-0, the record highest victory in the Sutherland club’s history.

The rugby-like scoreline consigned Fort William to their second double-figure defeat this season, having lost 10-0 to Fraserburgh in September, and is one goal short of matching the Highland League record, a 17-0 win for Peterhead in 1998 against Fort William.

Five goals from Steven MacKay and a Colin Williamson hattrick helped take Brora’s goal tally to 16 on what was one of the worst days in Fort William Football Club’s history.

The Fort made the long journey north with a number of key players absent, including captain Iain Foggo and forward Iain MacLellan, and only two named substitutes.

With Brora sitting seven points from the top of the league, the afternoon at Dudgeon Park was always going to be difficult for the Lochaber team but few could have predicted the scale of the task facing Fort William.

After just four minutes it became clear that Brora weren’t in the mood for mercy as Williamson opened the scoring for the home side from a corner. Less than 10 minutes later, Martin McLean found the back of the Fort net from another corner, while a Paul Brindle finish two minutes later made it three.

Steven MacKay got his first goals of the game after 20 and 22 minutes, while Zander Sutherland rounded off catastrophic 10-minute period for the Fort to make it 6-0 after 25 minutes.

Despite the result already being a foregone conclusion, Brora’s hunger for goals wasn’t satisfied as Steven MacKay and Zander Sutherland continued the onslaught with another goal each.

At 8-0 down, the Fort management team had the unenviable task of trying to lift the players’ spirits at half-time, while the Brora coaches couldn’t be happier with their team’s performance.

Unfortunately for the Lochaber men, the second half continued in much the same way with the Brora forwards queuing up to get their name on the scoresheet.

Brindle and Williamson got their second goals of the game to take the score into doublefigures. But still the waves of Brora attacks persisted and in a three-minute goal spree Scott Lisle, Martin MacLean and John Pickles compounded the Fort’s misery.

There was enough time for Williamson to secure his hattrick before Steven MacKay stole his thunder by netting his fourth and fifth goals of the afternoon just before the final whistle.

This rounded off a merciless performance from Brora, who seemed determined to boost their goal difference, perhaps in preparation for what could be a tight Highland League title contest this season.

Fort William, however, sit bottom of the Highland League with a goal difference of -80 and still without a league win this season.

The Fort are in action again this Saturday when they welcome Huntly to Claggan Park in the Highland League.