Alness United and Rothes share top spot as Highland League Under-18 title race hots up
The Highland Football League Under-18 championship race took an interesting turn on Sunday as Alness United recorded a big win over early pace-setters Inverness Athletic.
Aaron Skinner was the star of the show, netting a hat-trick with a spectacular goal to round off a 4–2 victory.
Skinner opened the scoring after just six minutes, adding the finishing touch to a Cameron Grant free kick. The same player extended the lead four minutes later with a header from a corner.
Grant got in on the scoring himself just a few minutes into the second half to make it 3–0, but the coup de grâce was reserved for Skinner on 59 minutes, beating Rueben Douglas with a stunning bicycle-kick to put his side four up.
Athletic sparked into life late on and netted through Kieran Goddard via a header.
Substitute Winston Mmeka who finished well on 74 minutes to further reduce the deficit.
Alness: Maclean, Wardrop, Cameron, Grainger, Allison, Grant, Macdonald, Stevenson, Thain, Skinner, McAllister. Subs: Lyon, Wilson, Winter, Stevenson, Ritchie
Inverness: Douglas, Irving, Foxcroft, Donald, Macgillivray, McWilliam, Morrison, Elsey, Goddard, Gillen, Hastings. Subs: Stuart, A Mackinnon, Mmeka, S Mackinnon
The win pushes Alness United into top spot in the table – but only on goal difference.
For now, they share top spot with a resurgent Rothes, who continued their run of winning form with an impressive 2–0 victory over Clachnacuddin.
Owen Alexander put the Speysiders ahead on 26 minutes before Ryan Morrison secured the win with a goal with ten minutes to go.
Clach: Galbraith, Martin, Haining, Cornish, S Mackenzie, Macdonald, D Mackenzie, Brown, Macgregor, McGoran, Wright. Subs: Henry, Patience, Gibson, Clark
Rothes: Diack, Cruickshank, Munro, Corbett, Craig, Alexander, Mcfadyen, Shepherd, Morrison, McConnachie, Masson. Subs: McIntosh, Dawson, Greenhorn, Fleming
In the only other game of the day, Wick Academy extended their gap to five points in fifth place with a 2–1 win away to bottom placed Buckie Thistle.
All the goals arrived in the second half in a close fought game in Moray, and it was Thistle who took the lead on 47 minutes with a strike from Logan Mill.
Scott Durrand levelled the scores just after the hour mark and twenty minutes from the end, Sean Pearson grabbed a winner to earn the young Scorries all three points.
Buckie: Farquhar, Ireland, Cole, J Hutcheson, B Hutcheson, Murray, Mill, Kosinski, Reid, Coul, Bremner. Subs: Taylor, Wood, Lawrence, Milne, Newlands
Wick: Beaton, Marshall, Taylor, Kilmas, Mackay, Mackillop, Levack, Mackay, Durrand, Aitkenhead, Morrison. Subs: Sutherland, Pearson, Shearer
