Tain Thistle go top with thirteen-goal barrage against Embo, as Inver hammer Lochinver
Tain Thistle boss John Maclellan described Saturday’s 13-1 win over Embo as a “manager’s dream” as he watched his charges come through the game unscathed one week before their highly anticipated Highland Amateur Cup second round tie away to Stromness Athletic.
He said: “Saturday was a manager’s dream - no injuries, plenty of goals and minutes for everyone and another strong performance.
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“I think it would be easy to discredit Embo on account of the score line, but I felt every goal in that game came from the quality of our play rather than any mistakes from them.
“They stuck at it and I’m sure going forward they will add to the results they’ve already had - they just caught us on a good day. We’ve been threatening to blow a team away for a while now and I thought going forward we were phenomenal.
“We are now coming into a very tough run of fixtures, but will continue to take it one game at a time and aim to build on the performances we have put in so far.
“It’s a long season but I’m fairly pleased with how we have started.”
Thomas Lewis stood out as the top marksman with five goals against the Sutherland hosts - the highlight being an acrobatic bicycle kick for his side’s sixth of the afternoon.
Two goals from Lewis in the opening 20 minutes got Tain off to a good start before Alex Stainke halved the deficit for Embo, but goals from Adrian Voigt, Callum Murray and a third for Lewis made it 5-1.
After the striker’s fourth of the afternoon, Jamie Skinner and Liam Rostock extended the lead to 8-1 come half-time.
A comparatively quieter second half saw Thistle extend their lead by five goals with Lewis, Voigt, Rostock and Murray each adding to their tallies, and young forward Billy Knox also getting on the scoresheet.
The win propels Thistle to the top of the North-west Sutherland league table by three clear points.
At Osprey Park, Inver were too strong for visitors Lochinver, winning 4-0 to continue their impressive league form.
Harris Mackenzie was the man of the moment in the first half with a double.
The first, turned into the net from a Jordan Hailes corner, was followed by a good solo finish after getting the better of a Lochinver defender.
Midfielder Alex Mackenzie extended Inver’s advantage in the second period before Jack Corbett rounded off the scoring.
In the other game of the day, Helmsdale United beat Melvich 5-1 at Couper Park thanks to goals from Kevin Cairns (2), Jack Wardrop, Louie Wardrop and Dean Cowie.
Ebi Ambakederemo scored for Melvich in reply.
Friday’s match between Golspie Stafford and Brora Wanderers was postponed due to a bereavement, while Saturday’s meeting between Lairg Rovers and Lochbroom was called off due to no available match officials.
Upcoming league fixtures:
Saturday, June 1
Melvich v Lochbroom (2pm)
Wednesday, June 5
Golspie Stafford v Helmsdale United (7.45pm)
