Jags held at home against league strugglers
High flying South Lochaber Thistle were held to a 2-2 draw at home in a frustrating game against bottom of the league side Eastwood Parkmount B.
The Jags fielded a strong line up, which saw the return of stalwart Daniel MacIntosh to the attaching trident alongside impish wingers Sean Noble and skipper Martin Munro.
The game kicked off and saw Thistle immediately take control. The midfield of veteran Dave Forbes, Andy MacLean and Darren Duncan began moving the ball sharply with Forbes especially looking a cut above with several flicks and deft touches to open up space around the Eastwood midfield.
However, it was the Muirend side who opened the scoring when a punted ball from their goalkeeper bounced over both the SLT midfield and back line allowing their front man to steal in and finish against the run of play.
Things were to go from bad to worse for the hosts as, mere minutes later, a similar ball caught the home side out again, this time allowing the Eastwood player to clip a tidy finish over the on-rushing Andrew Brown in the home side goal. Munro went close with a free kick, Noble had a strong penalty claim waved away by the referee and then Paul McFatridge had a promising header saved as the Jags continued to play decent football, especially in the middle of the park, but the game reached half time with the visitors still ahead.
The second half saw South Lochaber step up a gear and this was immediately rewarded as Munro capitalised on a slick series of passes to slot home with aplomb.
Thistle continued to press and were unlucky when Forbes was controversially adjudged to be offside as he turned in a Munro drive which the keeper spilt.
However, parity was restored soon after as Andrew Maclean powered in a header to level the scores at 2-2. Frustratingly, that was how the game was to finish as Kieron Lopez, McFatridge and the full backs Shaun Hendrie and Keir Kennedy looked composed and accomplished at the back.
Thistle pressed for the winner but some solid scrambled defending kept Parkmount at bay and secured them their first league point of the season.
This Saturday, South Lochaber Thistle make the long trip south to play Division Three outfit Colquhoun United in the second round of the Bobby Thompson Challenge Cup.