Fans can attend Moray football match on Saturday as Lossiemouth are given go-ahead to stage test event at their friendly against Deveronside
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LOSSIEMOUTH will roll out the red carpet for the return of supporters to their Grant Park ground this weekend.
The Coasters have been given the go-ahead to stage a test event for fans attending a match when they play junior side Deveronside in a friendly on Saturday, kicking off at 1pm.
With Moray’s tier one status allowing people to attend outside sporting events within Covid-19 guidelines, the coast club are “ready to go”, according to president Alan McIntosh, and this weekend’s experiment should pave the way for the Lossie loyal to be back for the start of the Highland League season.
Saturday is a free-to-enter match with fans able to enter through the turnstiles and be temperature checked before leaving their details with a club official for the purposes of track and trace.
“We are going to let 100 in, or more if more turn up,” said McIntosh. “We are allowed these fans in if they want to come and we’re looking forward to having supporters back in the ground again.
“We’ve had games every week and we’ve had the committees coming in. The fans have been watching from outside the ground, up on the line, and there’s been 20 and more up there at some games.
“Now they can come in and watch the game.
“We just need a couple of folk to do the temperature guns. We’ll have the hand sanitisers for everyone to use, and we are going to put spots on the dykes before Saturday to keep everyone two metres apart.
“As long as everyone does what we tell them to do, I think we’ll be ready to go.”
McIntosh said they considered making the game a ticketed affair, but instead they will open the gates and monitor their attendance.
It all bodes well for Lossie being able to host a home match on November 28 when the Highland League season gets under way.
“We’ve had our inspection from Graham Wilson (Highland League assistant secretary) and we are going to be using our social club for the away team to change,” McIntosh added.
“You need 20 square metres of changing room and we’ve not got room for anything else at the ground, so the players can walk over from the social club and use the entrance at Grant Park.”
Lossie have also entered this year’s Scottish Cup, but the draw was not kind to them on Tuesday, handing them a long away trip to either Lothian Thistle, Hutcheson Vale or St Cuthbert Wanderers.
“That’s our £4000 gone (appearance money), but we’ve got a chance of winning and that’s the way we should be looking at it,” said McIntosh.
“The next round is on Boxing Day. It would be nice if we got Elgin and it would be like the old Highland League festive derbies.”
