Anglers ‘deserve a huge amount of credit’ after North Caley campaign
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Halkirk United manager Ewan McElroy has said his players “can be really proud of themselves” after finishing third in the highly competitive North Caledonian League.
The Anglers ended up 10 points adrift of champions Invergordon and four behind runners-up Loch Ness in the 12-team division.
United rounded off their season with a 2-1 defeat to Orkney in Kirkwall on Saturday in a match that was marred by a serious injury to midfielder Andy Mackay.
McElroy said: “Unfortunately the game was overshadowed by the injury to Andy – he fractured his fibula in the first five minutes.
“I knew straight away something wasn’t right. Being Andy, he actually tried to shake it off but thankfully we opted to take him off and he went up to the hospital.
“It’s always unfortunate to lose a player to injury but I have no doubt Andy will come back stronger than ever.”
Scott Swannie’s early opener for Orkney was cancelled out by a shot from Stuart Campbell just after the half-hour mark. Sam Davidson got the winner with about five minutes left.
McElroy said: “On reflection the boys can be really proud of themselves with the season. We were right in the title race until the last few games and finishing third in a league this competitive shows the progress, commitment and application from the squad.
“Of course you always want to go one better, and there is always room for improvement, but from a manager’s perspective I think the boys deserve a huge amount of credit for their efforts this season.
“It has been a mini-rebuild after finishing eighth the year before and one of the real positives has been the impact of the new players, how quickly they have settled and bought into what the club is trying to do.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone behind the scenes as well. We have a forward-thinking and supportive committee who are already looking to plans for the next season and we have some incredible volunteers who help out behind the scenes both on match days and for the general running of the club.
“Similarly, we are really a management team behind the scenes and have some excellent coaches and support. Obviously Liam Anderson, Ross Suttar and Liam Sutherland are directly involved in everything we do but also Stewart Munro, Jamie Trueman and Niall Manson returning have all been an incredible support.
“I think Liam Anderson in particular deserves an awful lot of credit for the work he has put in over the course of the season. The club is in a really good place at the minute and I have no doubt, after an extended break, the majority will be looking to see if they can push things on again to the next level.”
On his summer football role with High Ormlie Hotspur, McElroy said: “It will likely be similar to before. Obviously, I will help out with HOHs when required but I am looking forward to a bit of a break and having the flexibility of not having to be there every week.
“We have put together a really strong squad over the years and I have no doubt High Ormlie Hotspur can challenge across a number of areas, but there will be a number of teams thinking the exact same.
“I’ve agreed to take the boys for the Highland Amateur Cup games, which I actually enjoy more than anything else. Liam Sutherland will be spearheading things again this year and continues to embrace the role.
“Similar to winter, and when he is away with work commitments, we have a group of boys including Ryan Sutherland, Lewis Gallacher and Aaron McNicol who will all chip in and help out where needed.
“Summer is all about enjoyment and I hope all the Caithness teams do exactly that over the period.”
