Highland League round-up: Rothes win crazy Moray derby, Keith and Lossiemouth beaten
There was plenty of derby day drama on the opening day of the Highland League season.
Rothes defeated nine-man Forres Mechanics - who ended with an outfielder in goals - 3-0 at Mosset Park, with the Speysiders’ goals coming from Greg Morrison, Jake Thomson and Owen Alexander.
Morrison gave Rothes the lead before Kyle MacLeod was sent off on his Can-Cans debut before half-time - a decision Forres manager Steven MacDonald labelled “appalling”.
Thomson added a second for Rothes before Forres keeper Corey Patterson was sent off for handball 30 yards from goal.
Centre-back Ryan McRitchie played the remaining half hour in goal, playing well and only conceding once more when Alexander added a third in the 85th minute.
Buckie Thistle - due to open their league campaign against Nairn County - were in League Cup action and helped knock Celtic legend Scott Brown’s Ayr United side out.
Ayr needed to beat the Jags by three goals at Somerset Park and had a 2-0 lead before half-time. Buckie, though, fought back to 2-2 through Josh Peters and Jack MacIver goals, before losing 3-2. The result means Ayr United go out on goal difference.
Moray’s other two sides - Lossiemouth and Keith - were both at home on opening day, and were both defeated.
Keith led at half-time against last season’s league runners-up Brechin City, but went onto lose 3-1, while Lossiemouth lost 2-0 to Clachnacuddin thanks to two first half goals.
Brora Rangers and Huntly are joint-top of the table after one matchday, having both won 5-0. Brora thrashed Turriff United at Dudgeon Park, while Huntly were big winners against last season’s bottom side Strathspey Thistle.
Deveronvale played nearly the entirity of their clash against Inverurie Loco Works with a man advantage after Nathan Meres’ seventh-minute red card, but were still beaten 2-0 at home.
Banks o’ Dee, who have invested heavily over summer, won one of the day’s most interesting ties 2-0 at Formartine United, while the shock result of the afternoon came up in Wick, where Academy were 2-0 winners over Fraserburgh.
