North of Scotland Cup

News about fixtures played in the North of Scotland Cup

Nairn County 3-2 Lossiemouth – Match Report

(30/08/2023 – NORTH OF SCOTLAND CUP FIRST ROUND – STATION PARK, NAIRN)

NAIRN COUNTY squeezed past LOSSIEMOUTH as the Coasters exited their second cup competition of the week. Lossie fell two goals down early in the second half but roared back to level with quarter of an hour remaining, but a third goal for the hosts earned them a place in the last eight of the competition.

Cameron Farquhar was restored to the starting goalkeeper following two weeks out and found himself back in business early on as Nairn started well. The Wee County had also exited the Highland League Cup at the weekend and were as eager as Lossie to make amends, but despite a strong start, supporters were kept waiting for the opening goal. When it arrived, it went the way of the hosts, with Scott Davidson firing home a Kenny McKenzie assist after half an hour.

HALF TIME – NAIRN COUNTY 1-0 LOSSIEMOUTH

Lossie started the second half brightly as they searched for an equaliser, only to be stung by a second goal for the hosts, with Callum Maclean bundling the ball home from a corner six minutes after the restart. Lossie continued to show they were still in the game and a fast attack down the right ended with Ryan Farquhar drawing a flying save from Nairn netminder Dylan Maclean.

With twenty minutes to go, Lossie were back in the game thanks to a Ross Morrison goal, and Nairn immediately began to wobble. So much did they wobble that Lossie were level soon after. A free kick from inside the Lossie half caused chaos in the home defence and while Dylan Maclean was well placed to save the first effort on goal, he could do nothing to stop Dean Stewart slamming the ball home at the back post.

Lossie were then on the receiving end of a quick reply, with on-loan Ross County man Andrew Macleod rifling home a free kick at the far post to win the tie for Nairn, setting up a last-eight encounter with Forres. Lossie now head for the bright lights of Aberdeen for a league clash with Banks O’ Dee.

HALF TIME – NAIRN COUNTY 3-2 LOSSIEMOUTH

TEAMS…

NAIRN COUNTY – Dylan Maclean; Callum Maclean, Kenny McKenzie (George Robesten (62)), Ross Tokely, Fraser Dingwall, Alasdair Gillies, Jamie Carnihan (Ben Kelly (71)), Angus Dey, Conor Gethins (Aaron Nicolson (71)), Andrew Macleod, Scott Davidson (Ciaran Young (80)); UNUSED SUBS – Tyler Eadie, Owen Macdonald, Lewis Munro

LOSSIEMOUTH – Cameron Farquhar; Brodie Mitchell (Ryan O’Halloran (66)), Jared Kennedy, James Leslie, Lewis Mcandrew, Dean Stewart, Liam Archibald (Fraser Forbes (66)), Ross Paterson, Ryan Stuart (Brandon (Hutcheson (46)), Ross Morrison, Ryan Farquhar; UNUSED SUBS – Fergus Edwards, Ross Archibald, Michael Weir, Oliver Kelly

GOALS:

NAIRN COUNTY – Scott Davidson (30), Callum Maclean (51), Andrew Macleod (79)

LOSSIEMOUTH – Ross Morrison (69), Dean Stewart (76)

REFEREE: Robert MacKinnon

Forres Mechanics 0-2 Lossiemouth – Match Report

(17/08/2022 – NORTH OF SCOTLAND CUP QUARTER-FINAL – MOSSET PARK, FORRES)

LOSSIEMOUTH saw off FORRES MECHANICS to claim a place in the final four of the North of Scotland Cup. An early howitzer from Ryan Farquhar stung the hosts and a much-improved shift from Lossie saw the tourists extended their lead later in the first half with a goal from Ross Archibald. Lossie kept their composure and custody of their lead despite sustained pressure from Forres following the restart.

Lossie supporters of a certain vintage have happy memories of cup ties played at Mosset Park, with two of Lossie’s hat-trick of North Cup wins in the 90’s played out at the venue, along with their most recent success in 2004. However, a chastening start to the league campaign – combined with Forres seemingly upping their game, culminating with a win at Inverurie on the weekend – meant the game was viewed with some suspicion by the travelling support, but from the very first minute it was obvious this was a different Lossie from previous weeks. Ryan Farquhar was installed in a defensive role, and his running from the back with the ball through to the middle of the park meant the game had a totally different look from the early season losses.

Lossie immediately took the game to a ponderous Forres, and after five minutes Farquhar had Lossie in front, arrowed home from all of twenty-five yards, leaving goalkeeper Robert Donaldson pawing at thin air as the ball sailed almost in slow motion into the top corner.

*Ryan Farquhar’s shot sails into the net for the opener – click for more*

Forres failed to match Lossie’s enthusiasm for the game and struggled to find a route out of defence that involved anything other than long passes over the top. The hosts looked decidedly rusty and were extremely wasteful, sending ball after ball out of play. Lossie lost Ross Elliott to injury thirteen minutes in, but his replacement Jack MacArthur quickly made himself at home as he tormented Forres down the left.

Ten minutes from the break, and with Forres still to make up their minds if they fancied getting involved in the game, Lossie doubled their lead. Forres failed to deal with a throw in and Ross Archibald pounced on the loose ball to score from inside the area.

HALF TIME – FORRES MECHANICS 0-2 LOSSIEMOUTH

The second half began with Forres doing more work in five minutes than they had in the previous forty-five as the reality of the situation dawned on them, but it was Lossie who created the first real chance of the half, as Ross Morrison charged down the wing before drifting a cross to the back post only to find no-one waiting. At the other end, James Leslie headed over his own bar as Forres finally came to the boil ahead of a sustained spell of pressure.

*The lady in red, watching the boys in blue*

On the hour, Forres withdrew Ethan Cairns for Lee Fraser, and while the appearance of the giant forward would normally cause problems for any side, long balls towards Fraser from Donaldson were foiled by Leslie and McAndrew. Connall Ewan drew a one-handed save from Logan Ross but Lossie were not in the mood for conceding.

Lossie subbed on Harry Allen for Fraser Forbes twenty minutes from time, and the youngster drew a save from Donaldson with his first touch as Lossie tried to finish the game off. Forres also rang the changes, sending on Shaun Morrison and Harvey Henderson for Martin Groat and Callum Murray, with neither making much of an impact. Dale Wood rifled a shot over the bar from eighteen yards as Forres were forced to try their luck from further out, and anything closer to goal was dealt with by Logan Ross, who fell on an effort from Ryan MacLeman in the final minute of normal time to finally break the spirit of Forres.

Five minutes of injury time followed, mainly to make up for bouts of cramp suffered by Lossie players in the second half as their work rate and intensity caught up with them. The full-time whistle was a welcome sound, and was followed by news that Lossie will host Brora Rangers in the semi-finals of the competition on August 31^st.

A road victory in the North of Scotland Cup last season at Nairn County turned out to be the win that set Lossie on their way to some strong performances and an ultimately entertaining season – here’s hoping for a repeat, starting at home to Wick Academy on Saturday.

FULL TIME – FORRES MECHANICS 0-2 LOSSIEMOUTH

TEAMS:

FORRES MECHANICS – Robert Donaldson; Andrew Skinner, Dale Wood, Ruari Fraser, Connall Ewan, Martin Groat (Shaun Morrison (69)), Callum Murray (Harvey Henderson (69)), Jack Grant, Ethan Cairns (Lee Fraser (59)), Ben Barron, Ryan MacLeman; UNUSED SUBS – Kane Davies, Thomas Brady, Lucas Davidson, Stuart M Knight

LOSSIEMOUTH – Logan Ross; Ryan Farquhar, James Leslie, Lewis MacAndrew, Ryan O’Halloran, Niall Kennedy, Liam Archibald, Ross Morrison, Ross Archibald, Ross Elliott (Jack MacArthur (13)), Fraser Forbes (Harry Allen (68)); UNUSED SUBS – Michael Weir, Jared Kennedy, Kyle Morrison

GOALS:

LOSSIEMOUTH – Ryan Farquhar (5), Ross Archibald (36)

REFEREE:

Harry Bruce

Forres Mechanics 0-2 Lossiemouth – Match Photos

(17/08/2022 – NORTH OF SCOTLAND CUP QUARTER-FINAL – MOSSET PARK, FORRES)

Match photos from Lossie’s defeat of Forres Mechanics at Mosset Park. Many thanks to @martindenyer for the photos – click here for the full album. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Click here for the match report.